Harry Potter and the Mystery of the Blue Box
by JSmith25
Summary: An alien spaceship crashed in the lake close to the school, an eccentric Professor and a mysterious blue box? Harry's Fifth Year at Hogwarts is going to be an exciting one.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

The Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan watched from the terrace as the monster slowly sank beneath the surface of the Thames.

"Where's it going?" asked Sarah.

"Oh, it's on its way home, no doubt," the Doctor replied.

"Home? Where?" said Harry.

"Loch Ness, Harry – after all, that's the only home it knows," answered the Doctor.

As they turned to leave the terrace, Sarah couldn't help wishing the monster a safe journey. It wasn't evil in itself – it had only obeyed its masters. Soon the old stories would be true at last. There really would be a monster in Loch Ness.

* * *

><p>20 years later...<p>

The scout ship orbited the small, rocky planet known as Sol 3. Its job was to survey the planet and, if possible, discover what had happened to the previous scout ship. Its last communication stated that the planet was suitable for invasion, but that had been 20 years ago by the small planet's standards. The scout ship scanned the planet for any threat, but found none.

The crew should have scanned the space behind them. A small asteroid came tumbling out of space, heading towards the scout ship, setting off the proximity alarm, but by then it was too late. The asteroid slammed into the scout ship, the impact knocking the ship's crew unconscious and causing the ship to lose its orbit. The asteroid continued on its long voyage throughout the depths of space while the scout ship now hurtled towards the tiny blue planet. The ship soon hit the planet's outer atmosphere, but luckily its heat shields were still operational. The ship continued on its collision course, flying over continents, countries and cities. Many of the planet's inhabitants saw the blazing ball of fire and pointed up at it, wondering what it was.

Minutes later, the scout ship finally hit the ground in a remote part of the planet, a lake in the country called Scotland, to be precise. The depth of the lake stopped any evidence of the crash from reaching the surface, but the inhabitants of the lake did notice. They inspected it, but found it uninteresting, and let it lie there in the small crater it had made. The ship's computer systems had shut down for now, and had already put its crew into suspended animation.

Several days later, the main power control bleeped into life. It had detected a strange radiation coming from the old castle next to the lake. Slowly, the computer drew on that radiation to make repairs to the scout ship, and to eventually revive its alien crew...

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note: I added the opening scene with the 4th Doctor, Harry Sullivan and Sarah Jane as part of my current revision. The scene is taken from a novelisaion of a classic Doctor Who story.<strong>


	2. Arrival

**Chapter 1 – Arrival**

The whirring of the silver instruments was the only thing that stopped the room falling into total silence as Albus Dumbledore sat brooding behind his desk. He was worried, as he had failed to find a candidate for the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, and as a result, the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, had forced Dumbledore to accept a ministry official as the teacher. Dolores Umbridge was Fudge's Personal Undersecretary, and Dumbledore had the sneaking suspicion that Umbridge was really here to spy on him and Harry Potter. Dumbledore sighed. Why wouldn't those fools realise that Voldemort was back? After looking out the window at the darkened landscape, he decided it was time to go to bed. He stood up from behind his desk and turned to make his way up the staircase that led to his bedroom when an unusual noise began to issue faintly from behind him. Dumbledore ignored it; his instruments had made much more unusual sounds than this. The sound had almost been dismissed from his mind entirely when he realised the noise was growing louder, and a light breeze seemed to have appeared from nowhere, causing Fawkes to give a soft cry and shiver in discomfort. Frowning, Dumbledore turned around.

The noise, a wheezing, groaning sound, seemed to be emanating from the corner of the room. Dumbledore's expression turned from one of discontent to one of shock as a blue box slowly materialised into existence in the corner of the room. He stood there, gaping rather foolishly at the box as his robes whipped around behind him in the wind the box was creating. Regaining his senses, he drew his wand. Nothing could penetrate Hogwarts' protective enchantments, so this object must be full of powerful dark magic. He was very surprised then, when the box's doors were flung open and a young man stepped out. Dumbledore observed him curiously. The man was dressed in a tweed jacket, trousers, suspenders, and was wearing what appeared to be a blue bowtie. Before Dumbledore could do so much as open his mouth to cast a stunning spell, the man beamed around at his surroundings.

"London, 2191!" he proclaimed, before his brain processed the information his eyes were receiving. "No, hang on, this isn't London!" the man muttered, his smile faltering. He looked around and spotted Dumbledore, causing his grin to resume its previous position on his face. "Kazran Sardick, how good it is too see you again!" he cried, rushing forward to shake Dumbledore's hand. "How's that Cloud Belt going? And the flying shark? I was actually going to visit my granddaughter, but what the hell!" The man had obviously confused Dumbledore with someone else. "Is this your office? I love offices! I haven't had one since I was elected President of the...oh, never mind." He noticed Dumbledore's raised wand. "What are you pointing at me? And what's with the beard?"

"Who're you?" Dumbledore eyed the man with suspicion. "And how did you get your box in here? It looks electronic, but that sort of muggle technology doesn't work around here."

"Ok, not Kazran, then. Err, I'm the Doctor, and the box is my...transport. I'd like to explain how it works, but, quite frankly, you wouldn't understand!"

"Try me."

"Oh... well, first, imagine a great big tub of water, then think of what happens when you but something in the water. The water gets displaced, doesn't it? Well, same principle, except with the atmosphere."

"I see," said Dumbledore, lying through his teeth. He was confused; the analogy didn't make any sense.

"Good, because it's nothing like that," said the man.

Dumbledore frowned. The man seemed to have no intention of telling him how he got through Hogwarts' protective enchantments; why else would he babble such nonsense? He tried a different question. "Why are you here?"

"I'm here because... err because..." The man looked around the room, as if looking for some sort of inspiration. His eyes settled on an advertisement for the Defence Against the Dark Arts job that Dumbledore had left lying on his desk. "I'm here for the teaching job!" the man finally exclaimed.

Dumbledore was quite convinced that the man was most certainly not here for the teaching job, but went along with him anyway. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, err?"

"Just call me the Doctor," the man said.

Dumbledore's confusion increased. Doctor? Shouldn't it be Healer? 'Doctor' was a muggle term.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Doctor, but I have already found a suitable candidate for the post." Dumbledore snorted inside his head. 'Suitable' indeed!

"Oh," the Doctor said, looking hassled, "Is there anything else I can teach? Maths, physics, anything science-y? I'm quite good at them..."

"What are those things you speak of?"

"Basically, the study of what makes the universe tick!"

Dumbledore considered. Whilst he knew that Hogwarts was a school of magic, it wouldn't hurt the students to learn about the universe around them. He made an executive decision. "Deal!" he said, offering his hand.

The Doctor took the hint and shook it. "Brilliant! When do I start?"

"You'll start in one week, when the students arrive. By the way, Doctor...who, exactly? And why the 'doctor' bit; it's a muggle term"

The Doctor smirked. "Smith, Doctor John Smith. The title's a disguise, so people won't recognise me." He tapped his nose.

Dumbledore nodded, unconvinced, then yawned. It really was time to get to bed. "If you don't mind, Professor Smith, but I'll show you to your office tomorrow. We both really must be getting to bed. Where will you sleep?"

"In my...box, if that's alright, Mr...?"

"Professor Albus Dumbledore. Surely you've heard of me? You are in Hogwarts after all."

The Doctor looked flustered. "Yeah, well, I've kind of been ... away."

"Away?"

"Yep!"

Dumbledore sighed. It would be pointless to pursue the subject. "Goodnight, John."

But 'John' had already disappeared inside the box again. Shaking his head, Dumbledore slowly made his way up the stairs to his bedroom. He was very much aware that the Ministry wouldn't approve of his decision, but he felt he didn't really care what the Ministry thought, particularly not in the current circumstances. At least he might get a chance to find out how 'the Doctor' had managed to get his box into Hogwarts.

* * *

><p>The Doctor, however, wasn't displaying any sign of fatigue whatsoever. He was checking his yearometer, location and radiation indicator in the TARDIS, his blue box. Capable of travelling anywhere throughout time and space, it was infinitely bigger on the inside than the out, allowing him to practically live inside. Despite his youthful appearance, the Doctor was really much, much older. In the terms of his people, the Time Lords, he was nearing retirement age, at 1,568 years old.<p>

"Year: 1995 AD. Location: Earth, Scotland. Radiation: OFF THE SCALE!" the Doctor read, before descending into a mad panic, trying desperately to find his decontamination tablets left over from his first encounter with the Daleks before realising that the display had expanded.

'Radiation type: Demet. Demet radiation was first discovered by humans in 103,459 AD, when the general population learned that a small portion of humans had developed the ability to harness it. When harnessed, it grants the user the ability to control it, allowing for many extraordinary feats to be performed. Demet radiation is the cause for what humans call 'magic'.'

The Doctor looked up from the display, excitement evident in his eyes. "So that's why Kazran's look-a-like had a stick pointed at me. It's a wand, and he's a wizard, which means I'm going to be teaching young wizards and witches!" He rambled on for a bit more before realising that, if he was going to able to play the part of a wizard effectively, he would need to be able to perform magic. One quick infusion of his sonic screwdriver with demet radiation from the atmosphere outside the TARDIS, and he was able to perform 'magic'. He then spent several hours researching the history of magic, and of wizards and witches. Once this was done, he stepped outside.

The sun's rays where just shining above the horizon, and caused the mountains to appear as if they were glowing. The Doctor looked out at the beautiful scene for a few minutes before shaking himself out of his stupor and looking around the room, taking in more detail that he had done the previous night. Dumbledore had not yet woken, so he turned to Dumbledore's silver instruments. He looked at them curiously and wondered what they did, particularly the one that puffed smoke. He soon got bored of this though, and turned his attention to the still sleeping Fawkes.

"Hello, birdy," he said, stroking the bird's wing. "Your a phoenix aren't you?" he asked, scratching the bird under the chin. Fawkes opened an eye and glared at him reproachfully.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you!" the Doctor said hastily, and backed off. A noise upstairs alerted him to the fact that Dumbledore was now awake. Sure enough, Dumbledore descended the spiral staircase a few minutes later.

"Ah, John, I hope you had a good sleep?" Dumbledore. Not waiting for a reply, he continued. "Please follow me down to the Great Hall for breakfast, I'll introduce you to the other teachers." Dumbledore opened the door for the Doctor, who walked through it. He couldn't wait to meet the other teachers!

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note: I hope you like the new and improved chapter 1! I added more descriptive prose, something that I felt was lacking in the original chapter. I also expanded on Dumbledore's thoughts about the Doctor, and added a reason as to why he accepted the Doctor's offer to teach science. After re-reading the story, I felt that the original chapter had Dumbledore accepting the Doctor too quickly, something that goes against Dumbledore's character.<strong>


	3. New Teachers

**Chapter 2 – New Teachers**

Most of the other staff members were already eating breakfast by the time Dumbledore and the Doctor arrived in the Great Hall. Dumbledore stopped walking, giving the Doctor a chance to take in the sight.

"This, John, is the Great Hall," said Dumbledore, gesturing around the room. "The staff and students have meals here, but you should remember that from your time here."

"Sorry?" the Doctor asked, not catching what Dumbledore said; he'd been too busy admiring the enchanted ceiling.

"You remember the Great Hall from your time at Hogwarts, do you not?" Dumbledore repeated.

"Oh," said the Doctor, caught off-guard. "No, I never went to Hogwarts."

"Why not?"

"I was uh, educated in Australia," the Doctor replied, quickly improvising. "Born in England, moved to Australia when I was 150, went to school at the um, Magical Scientific Institute of Australia. I graduated, travelled the world for a bit, then moved back here."

"I see," lied Dumbledore. Moved to Australia when he was 150, what rubbish! John looked no older than 25! Still, plenty of time to find out his secrets later.

"I see," Dumbledore repeated. "In that case, let me introduce you to the staff."

The Doctor continued to stare around the Hall with an expression of delight on his face as he and Dumbledore moved towards the table at the back of the hall.

"This place is amazing!" he told Dumbledore. "Particularly how you've made the candles hover. You've used a levitation charm surely, but to keep the effect constant by maintaining an anti-grav air current..." he trailed off.

"Good morning, Albus," said a severe looking woman from the table. "May I ask who your friend is?"

"This is John Smith, Minerva, our new science teacher. John, this is Minerva McGonagall, the Transfiguration professor," Dumbledore said, introducing the two people to each other.

The Doctor waved cheerily to McGonagall.

"Science, you say, Headmaster?" asked a hook-nosed teacher with black, greasy hair. "What exactly is science?"

"It's a muggle subject, Severus," said a woman sitting at the far end of the staff table before Dumbledore could reply. "It's all about nonsense, such as why things stay on the ground, what people are made up of, that sort of thing."

Snape nodded slowly, before turning to look at the Doctor. "So you're a muggle, then?" he asked smoothly.

"No," replied the Doctor. "As I was saying, I was educated at the Magical Scientific Institute of Australia. It's a place that encourages muggle...nonsense." he finished, giving the witch at the far end of the table a frown.

Dumbledore, sensing trouble, stepped in. "Charity Burbage is our Muggle Studies professor, John, and Professor Severus Snape is our Potions Master." He indicated to the black haired man.

"Potions, I love potions!" the Doctor said excitedly. "Have you found the one that cures blood clots yet? Not that I have any, but you never know when they're needed..." He trailed off, seeing the confused looks the teachers were giving him.

Dumbledore coughed and continued the introductions. "Filius Flitwick, the Charms professor, Pomona Sprout, who teaches Herbology. Professors Grubbly-Plank, Umbridge and Vector aren't here yet; they teach Astronomy, Care of Magical Creatures, Defense Against the Dark Arts and Arithmancy respectively. Sybill Trelawney is in charge of Divination, but you won't see her often, she stays up in her tower most of the time. But enough introductions, it's time to eat!" he finished, and he and the Doctor took their places at the table.

* * *

><p>10 minutes later, the Doctor was having an argument with Professor Sinistra about the Proxima Centauri system, the closest solar system to Earth.<p>

"I tell you, the Proxima system is made up of three stars: Alpha Centauri A, B and C!" the Doctor said exasperatedly for the third time.

"There is no evidence for that theory whatsoever!" replied Professor Sinistra heatedly. "Did you study the subject for three years? Having you been teaching it for the last 20?"

At this, the Doctor stopped. "Well, no," he admitted. "But," he said, holding up a hand to stop Professor Sinistra from replying. "I did study it for 50 years, and have visited the system numerous times. I'm even a member of the Alpha Centauri table tennis club!"

Professor Sinistra just shook her head. "Nutter," she muttered.

* * *

><p>Harry Potter stepped into the Great Hall of Hogwarts in a bad mood, which was understandable, as at least twenty people had already come up to him, demanding to know what <em>really<em> happened the night Cedric died. When Ron, Hermione and Ginny told them to shut up, the 'unbelievers', as Ron had christened them, smirked and ran off to tell their friends how Harry 'Plotter' couldn't support his story with evidence, and how he'd reacted when they asked him. Harry plonked himself down at the Gryffindor table next to Ron, looking determinedly at his empty gold plate. Hermione, meanwhile, scanned the Staff Table.

"Hagrid's not here!" she exclaimed.

"Maybe he's not back from, you know, his _mission_ yet," Ron said darkly.

"Yeah, that'll be it," replied Harry, not looking up from his plate.

Hermione continued to scan the staff table before spotting one of the new teachers.

"Who's that?" she asked sharply, pointing towards the middle of the staff table.

Harry's eyes finally left his plate and followed Hermione's eyes to a small witch who vaguely resembled a toad. He gasped. "She was at the hearing! She works for Fudge!"

Hermione frowned. During this, Ron had noticed the other new addition to the staff table. "Hey, guys," he said, tapping them on the shoulder, "We've got another new teacher."

Harry turned to see a youngish man chatting very animatedly to Professor Flitwick. Unlike the rest of the staff, who were wearing robes, the new teacher was wearing a bow tie with a tweed jacket. "That's a very muggle look," he said, "Looks like he teaches at Oxford."

"Do you reckon he is a muggle?" asked Ron anxiously.

"No, they wouldn't let them in," replied Hermione, "I wonder what he teaches?"

"Care of Magical Creatures?" suggested Harry.

"Nah, they've got that Grubbly-Plank woman for that," answered Ron.

That was the end of the conversation, as Professor McGonagall arrived with the first years. After they had been sorted and the feast had finished, Dumbledore stood to say a few words.

"Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices," said Dumbledore. "First years ought to know that the Forest in the school grounds is out of bounds to all students – and a few of our older students ought to know by now, too. Mr Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four hundred and sixty second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor are a number of things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr Filch's office door. We have three changes is staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

After a smattering of unenthusiastic applause, Dumbledore continued. "Finally, Professor Smith, who will be teaching the new, compulsory subject of Science."

Harry, Hermione and a few other students gasped. Science was a muggle subject.

"...who don't know, science is the study of the universe, in other words, why the world around us behaves in a certain way. For those of us who come from muggle families, science is not new to you, as I believe it is taught in muggle schools..."

There was a large outcry at this, particularly from the Slytherin table. It took several loud _BANG_s from Dumbledore's wand to quieten the din.

"However, after learning of this subject, I decided that is one of the most important things we can study apart from magic at this school, and all teachers support my decision to include it in Hogwarts' curriculum."

Once glance at the staff table told Harry this was not true; Professors Snape, and Umbridge displayed expressions of fury at these words. Students began to rise from their tables; Harry realised they had been dismissed. He slowly made his way up to the common room, not sure if he should be looking forward to the year ahead.


	4. First Lesson

**Chapter 3 – First Lesson**

After following the Ravenclaws down to the Great Hall on Monday morning, Harry, Ron and Hermione instinctively looked at the staff table. Professor Smith was talking to Professor Sinistr, and judging by her expression, she wasn't liking what Professor Smith was saying. Passing over this, the trio began eating breakfast. Professor McGonagall started moving down the table handing out time tables soon after.

"Look at today!" groaned Ron after finishing his bacon and eggs. "History of Magic, Potions, Divination, Defence Against the Dark Arts and Science ... Binns, Snape, Trelawney, Umbridge and that Smith weirdo all in one day! Worst Monday ever!"

"Tell me about it," Harry groaned.

* * *

><p>After enduring the agony of all three of his worst subjects (which became all four of his worst subjects by the time Defence was finished), Harry was back in a gloomy mood. He tried to cheer himself up before science, as he knew Professor Smith was a new teacher, and wanted to give him a fair chance. The science room was in Classroom 6, down on the first floor. The first thing that Harry noticed as he stepped in was a large blue box standing in a corner behind the teacher's desk, at which Professor Smith sat. Wondering what on earth a blue box had to do with science, Harry took a seat next to Ron at the front of the class. When all of the class had assembled, the Doctor (for of course it was he) took the roll. When he had finished, he jumped up. "Hello, everyone! I'm Professor Smith, and I'm here to teach you about the universe, the world, and a whole lot of other exciting...stuff!"<p>

The class exchanged dubious looks. Malfoy drawling voice rang out. "If you don't mind me asking, _sir_, but are you qualified to teach us? You look like you've just finished school yourself."

"I think you'll find me perfectly qualified to teach you everything I know, Mr (he consulted the roll) Malfoy. As you see, I graduated from the Magical Scientific Institute of Canberra 15 years ago!" He passed a slip of covered paper containing said detail to Malfoy before taking it back.

"But sir!" said Hermione, her hand in the air, "You look about 25! If you graduated 15 years ago, that would make you 10 when you graduated!"

There was a chorus of laughter from the class, but Professor Smith seemed unfazed. "No, Miss (he looked at the roll again) Granger, I am not 25. In fact, if anyone can correctly guess my real age and write their answer at the bottom of any homework or essays I give them, I will award an amount of points equal to my age to that person's house! But anyway, onto the subject. First off, does anyone actually know what magic is?"

Unsurprisingly, Hermione's hand shot up. "Please sir, magic is created through a chemical in our blood. It..."

Professor Smith let her finish before replying in a matter-of-fact way: "Well, if you want to think of it that way, yes. But if you want to think of it in terms of reality, then no."

Harry was shocked, and he could tell Ron was too. Hermione was never wrong. But this new teacher, who looked no older than Tonks had just stopped her in her tracks. Hermione was deeply offended. "But sir, I _know_ that blood is responsible; I've read all about it..."

"No, no, no, no! Blood is not responsible for magic!" countered Professor Smith. "I'll prove it to you by doing our first practical experiment."

At those words, the class sat up. A 'practical experiment' sounded interesting.

Professor Smith went to a cupboard and pulled out a primitive projector. He placed on a desk in front of a screen, took out a chrome plated device that very vaguely resembled a wand, except for the fact that it emitted a green light and made a whirring noise. The projector turned on, displaying a slide containing what appeared to be a single strand of DNA. Hermione, however, was more interested in the device that Professor Smith had just put back in an inside pocket of his jacket. "What is that...sir?"

"My wand," was the reply. Hermione pursed her lips. Evidently she wasn't convinced, but she let the subject drop.

"Now," continued Professor Smith, pointing to the screen, "this is a sample of normal, human DNA. Take a good look at it. For the next bit, I will need a volunteer."

No one stood up.

"Nobody? Well, since Miss ... Granger here apparently knows all about, she can help me! Come on Miss Granger, I'm only 25, I won't bite!" All this was said in a friendly teasing manner, so Hermione could tell that the weird 'bowtie' professor was only trying to make her less apprehensive. She got up and walked towards Professor Smith.

"Now, I'm just going to take a small blood sample, that's it. It won't hurt, so stay still."

He drew his 'wand' and made a small slashing motion at Hermione's arm. A small cut appeared and droplets of blood slowly oozed out. Professor Smith held a dish under Hermione's arm to collect the blood. Once he had got what he wanted. He pointed his 'wand' at Hermione's wound and pressed a button. Green light emanated from the tip and the whirring noise filled the room again. Her wound healed. Hermione quickly glanced at it, but just managed to see it being put back in its pocket. However, this was also she needed, as it confirmed her theories.

"That's not a wand!" she said to herself as she sat back down. "That's an electronic device of some sort. But electronics don't work at Hogwarts, so how does that? But if it isn't a wand, then how did he manage to cut my arm?"

She put those thoughts aside for the moment and tuned back into the lesson. Professor Smith had done something to her blood sample, and one could now see her DNA. With this effect now in place, Hermione's blood sample was put onto a slide in the projector next to the normal human DNA example. Side by side, the two samples looked remarkably similar.

Professor Smith clasped his hands together. "Now, can anyone see any difference?"

Harry stared begrudgingly at the screen and had to admit that there was no visible difference.

"Excellent! This is because humans share about 99.9% of their DNA with each other, so you and the Muggles aren't that different at all. Well, maybe you are. There is once crucial difference in the DNA code that sets Miss Granger apart from the muggle sample. You see, DNA is made up billions of base pairs. These four bases – adenine, thymine, cytosine and guanine, code for every single function your body performs. Adenine pairs with thymine and cytosine pairs with guanine. Now, there are things in your body called proteins, and these perform the functions of the body. But how do we get from DNA to proteins? Anyone?"

The class just looked at each other, all extremely confused.

Professor Smith was disappointed. "No one? Ok then, I'll have to start at the basics..."

* * *

><p>Half an hour later, Professor Smith had taught the class the essentials of protein synthesis, how DNA is translated into mRNA, and how amino acid chains are coded based on the mRNA template, then folded into the correct shape in yet another cell organelle. The class was amazed.<p>

"All this is happening inside us? Weird," Ron said, looking incredulously at Harry.

Professor Smith grinned. "I know, pretty cool, right? Anyway, now you know the basics of protein synthesis, you should have no problem determining what causes magic. This, of course, is homework."

The bell rang to signify the end of the school day.

"Remember what I said about mutations, and I'll see you all on Wednesday!" Professor Smith shouted above the noise of the students packing up. "Oh, Miss Granger, could I have a word for a moment?"

Harry and Ron sent Hermione a questioning look before heading out the door with the rest of the class.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note: Updated the chapter to contain a much more detailed and realistic explanation of DNA and genetics.<strong>


	5. Impressions and Discussion

**Chapter 4 – Impressions and Discussion**

"What did Professor Smith want?" asked Harry when the trio had time to regroup in the common room after dinner.

"Oh, just to say that he was sorry that he proved me wrong. He said he could tell that it wasn't something that happened often," replied Hermione.

Ron snorted. "Wuss! He just wanted to make up for saying you're wrong, when you're actually right."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he said that you're wrong saying that magic is due to blood or whatever, and then at the end of the lesson, he said that there was something about DNA that makes us different. Blood and DNA are the same, aren't they?"

"No Ron, they're not," Hermione corrected impatiently "but he seemed to be really sorry. I don't think he likes seeing people upset -"

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"- Not that I was upset, of course," Hermione added hastily, lowering her voice, "but there is another thing. His wand – it's electronic!"

"So?" asked Ron, who looked over at Fred and George, who were trialling their Skiving Snackboxes on some naive first years, then quickly looked away in case his brothers caught him staring.

"Honestly, Ronald, you must know by now that electrical things don't work in or around Hogwarts; there's too much magic in the air." Seeing Ron's confused look, she continued. "The thing he used as a wand emitted a green light and made a whirring sound when used. Wands don't do that, you know."

"Yeah, but maybe he modified it or something," countered Ron.

Hermione looked at him sceptically. "Do you really think that's possible?"

Ron lowered his head. "No, but..."

Ron and Hermione continued to argue for several more minutes until Harry remembered something else odd about the science lesson. "Hellooo!" he shouted waving his hand between his two arguing friends." Did you guys see that big blue box in the room?" he asked.

"Yeah, dunno what it's for though, probably just stores his equipment," guessed Ron, dismissing the notion that something was odd about the box. "What did you think about the whole age thing?"

"I think he's lying," said Hermione promptly. "He's got to be. If he's not 25, then he's definitely not older than 30."

"Well, write that at the bottom of your homework, then."

"I have, but I suspect he'll just laugh and say it's wrong."

"Did you find the difference in the genesic coda or whatever?"

Grinning slightly at Ron's shaky grip of scientific terminology, Hermione shook her head.

"There isn't one as far as I can see. As for what magic is – I'm sticking to the facts; whatever Professor Smith says, he's wrong. That much I do know."

The conversation ended there, and the three stayed up till 1am finishing homework before they finally went to bed, but Harry could not get rid of the feeling that something was strange about the blue box. Hermione, however, was more preoccupied with wondering what Professor Smith's wand really was.


	6. The Truth About Magic

**Chapter 5 – The Truth about Magic**

Harry had little time to ponder the eccentricity of Professor Smith during the following day, as his homework amount became increasingly high. He also found that he loathed Professor Umbridge, who seemed to take it upon herself to punish anyone when the words Voldemort, alive, Cedric, murdered, Harry and Potter appeared close together in the same conversation. Harry also noticed (unsurprisingly) that she seemed to punish Gryffindors the most, but didn't punish Slytherins at all. He thought this was ironic, as some members of Slytherin house actually supported Voldemort and the Death Eaters. After all this, it was a great relief for him to step through the doors to his second lesson on Wednesday, as he briefly escaped Umbridge's seemingly constant punishments. Professor Smith was waiting for them, slightly hunched over with his hands clasped together. The antique projector was on, displaying the two DNA samples.

"Hello, everyone! I hope we've all done our homework. Not that you needed to, as I don't like homework, but if you want to, you can continue to do it, but you don't need to." He beamed around at them, excitement on his face, quite oblivious to the exchanged looks of confusion between the students. He clapped his hands together, "So, today we're going to look at what magic is. I left you a clue as to what sets wizards apart from muggles last lesson – did anyone find out what that difference is? Yes, Miss Granger?"

Hermione had been listening with pursed lips. Clearly she was holding back her thoughts, but immediately raised her hand in response to Professor Smith's question. "Please, sir. There isn't any difference that isn't expected between my DNA sample and the muggle's. You were wrong; there isn't any difference at all. Magic is caused by blood, just as I said before."

"Then how do you explain muggles gaining magic without any wizarding ancestry?"

Hermione opened and closed her mouth several times stupidly before saying nothing.

"There, told you so. The difference is here," Professor Smith pointed his 'wand' at the projector. The bulb at the front lit up and the whirring noise began again. Somehow, the image on the screen was magnified several hundred times. The students were amazed.

"Just exactly how did you do that?" asked Malfoy, a sneer forming on his lips.

"Magic!" smirked Professor Smith. "But have a look at the screen. See the difference?"

There, in Hermione's DNA double-helix, was a small niche. This feature was not shared with the muggle's DNA strand.

"That niche," explained Professor Smith, "is the source of magic; it allows you to control it, harness it. If you do not have that niche in your DNA, you can't control magic. Mostly, that niche is naturally occurring, that is, it is inherited from your parents. But sometimes - yes, Miss Granger?" The Professor did not seem to mind the interruption; on the contrary, he seemed to expect it.

"If the ability to harness magic is called by a mutation in the DNA, then what _is_ magic?"

"Ha-ha, I was expecting you to ask that! And well done on correctly identifying that the niche is caused by DNA mutation; 10 points to Gryffindor! Yes, wizards and witches are the result of human DNA mutating! How nice is it to know you're all mutations?"

Several looks of bewilderment were exchanged among the class, as none except Hermione knew anything about genetics.

"But sir, what _is _magic?"

"Err, right. Um, I probably shouldn't be telling you guys this because it won't be widely known for another 101,464 years..." Professor Smith said guiltily.

"Sir!"

"Yes, yes, alright. Magic is a form of radiation and floats around in the air. It's harmless, but can be controlled, and it can also interfere with electronic equipment. "

"So," said Harry slowly, "Magic is just a...raidation floating around in the atmosphere, and witches and wizards can harness it because of a DNA mutation."

"Radiation," corrected Professor Smith "But yes, you're correct."

"But that's absurd!" shouted Malfoy from the back of the class.

Professor Smith only smiled. "I know!"

The rest of the lesson was spent taking notes about genetics, but, much to the class' disappointment, Professor Smith avoided the subject of the DNA niche by writing so much information about X and Y Chromosomes on the board that the entire class save Hermione hadn't finished copying it down by the time the bell rang. The class immediately started packing up, and Professor Smith turned and walked into his office.

* * *

><p>Harry, Ron and Hermione were soon walking up the marble staircase, and managed to hear Malfoy make a comment to Pansy Parkinson that sounded suspiciously like: 'Just wait till Umbridge hears about the rubbish that Smith guy was going on about.'<p>

"Just like Malfoy to get a teacher whom he doesn't like into trouble," said Ron, "I don't mind him much myself, but he's a bit, you know, _weird_."

"Wonder where he comes from?" said Harry, "He said he graduated from the Magical Scientific Institute of Canberra or whatever."

"Canberra's the capital of Australia though," continued Hermione. "But he doesn't sound Australian."

"I know, he sounds, well, British if you ask me," replied Ron. "Must come from one of the old wizarding families; the ones that live in huge manors and have tonnes of gold."

"Like me, you mean, Weasley," Malfoy's drawl interrupted the conversation, "Of course, that means that your Professor friend must be a lot more respectable than your own blood-traitor family."

Ron flushed. "Shut up, Malfoy."

Crabbe and Goyle cracked their knuckles threateningly.

"It's the third day of term Malfoy, and you're already trying to get the new teacher in trouble. Why?" asked Harry

"Because I can, Potty, that's why. Magic is caused DN-whatever along with radiation, my boot. That's just a complete load of garbage. No wonder this place is going to the dogs."

"I think you're right, Malfoy," said Hermione unexpectedly. "All this stuff about radiation and DNA is idiotic."

Malfoy actually took a step back, too shocked to speak. So were Harry and Ron, who just stood there stupidly, gawking at her. Malfoy soon recovered.

"The mudblood agrees with me! The mudblood actually agrees with _me_!" he exclaimed happily. "Well, this is new! Finally come around to your senses have you?"

"No," replied Hermione stiffly, "I just think you're right about what Professor Smith is teaching, that's all. But I don't think you should go to Professor Umbridge. He's only new; give him a chance!"

Malfoy considered. "Alright. But if he mentions anything more about ... oh, never mind, I'll go straight to Umbridge first thing on the weekend, got it?"

The trio all nodded their heads, and picked up their previous conversation as they turned to walk up the moving staircases to the seventh floor.

"What do you think about Professor Smith saying that the radiation or whatever will be discovered in another 101,500 years? Maybe he's used a time turner to go into the future!" said Ron.

"Nonsense, Ronald, time turners can only take the user back in time," corrected Hermione, frowning slightly.

"So what do you think then?"

"I think that he's lying again. No one can travel forward in time; it's just not possible."

Ron and Hermione kept arguing for the rest of the day, and Harry became so sick of it that he was actually glad to go to Umbridge's detention, if only to escape his quarrelling friends.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5.5 – Signal<strong>

Unknown to the students and staff of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the alien spaceship that had crashed in the lake had been drawing on the Demet radiation in the air to restore its power levels. This process was now mostly complete, and the computer set about awakening one of the crew. The computer also sent out an encrypted signal to the Mothership, informing it and the Invasion Fleet that the scout ship had crashed, and that once power levels were at maximum and the crew revived, surveillance would begin. The first place of interest was the old castle close to the crash site...


	7. Inspection

**Chapter 6 - Inspection**

Unfortunately for the Doctor, his next Fifth Year science lesson did not go well. It had started out alright, but Hermione had asked questions every two seconds, as if trying to get him to admit that he was lying, or at least make him flustered and reveal a plot hole in his story. Fortunately, the Doctor never became flustered, and this made Hermione quite cross, as she was sure she was correct. Things got out of hand when she asked him if he had travelled forward in time. Going by Rule #1 (The Doctor lies), he had told her that he had done so by using a wormhole (not wanting to reveal the TARDIS at this point). She had snorted, obviously disbelieving him.

At the urging of the rest of the class, he had then spent the rest of the lesson explaining how wormholes worked, and that they only took you into the future, and his adventures there. Still sceptical, Hermione then asked how he got back. That part was easy, as he had heard about a device called the 'time turner', and, knowing that it could only take you back in time, used this as his way out. Luckily, the bell rang and the class left leaving the Doctor to brood quietly over the stupidity of humans. Sighing, he got up from his desk and went down to the Great Hall for dinner. At least the weekend would give him a break and allow him to explore the grounds more.

* * *

><p>The weekend soon finished, however, and bad news had arrived: Dolores Umbridge had been made the first ever 'Hogwarts High Inquisitor'. On top of that, the TARDIS picked a signal emanating from the lake close to the school while he was teaching the seventh years. Unsure of what the signal said, he left the TARDIS to decipher it whilst he taught the Fifth Years that afternoon, but something unexpected was waiting for him as he stepped out of the TARDIS. It was Professor Umbridge.<p>

"Oh, err, hello!" the Doctor said in surprise. He had seen little of her during their brief time at the school, but his first impression was that she was someone who would do anything for power. 'Megalomaniac' he had called her.

"Hello, John. My name is Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, as well as the holder of the new post of Hogwarts High Inquisitor. It is now my job to inspect teachers and fire anyone unsatisfactory," she spoke to the Doctor as if he was 5 years old, and was wearing a horrible pink cardigan.

"Oh, OK then. Inspect me! I don't think I've ever been inspected before! What do I do?" the Doctor asked excitedly, unintentionally surprising Umbridge. She had never seen anyone excited about an inspection before.

"Well, I just need to ask you some questions before class starts. Your age?"

"1,568."

Umbridge politely raised an eyebrow at this, indicating her disbelief.

"And you have been teaching for...?"

"Two weeks today."

"Of course; you're new. And what do you teach the students?"

"Science: what makes the universe tick. The most exciting and engaging subject for young and inquisitive minds! I've been focussing on what magic is for the time being; I'll be moving on to gravity and astronomy soon."

"You are aware that astronomy is already taught at this school?"

"Really? I bet you only study the galaxy."

"Yes, we do only cover the galaxy," was Umbridge's cautious reply.

"Great, 'cause I'll cover the universe!"

Umbridge made a note on her clipboard, frowning slightly. "When you say you've been focussing on what magic is, what do you mean?"

"I mean that magic is a form of radiation, and that you can harness it because of a mutation in human DNA."

"And you know that your course does not follow the Ministry curriculum?"

"I wasn't aware that the Ministry had a curriculum for this subject, as it was only introduced two weeks ago."

Umbridge opened her mouth to say something, but at that moment the Doctor's class walked in.

* * *

><p>Harry immediately felt a shiver run down his spine as soon as he laid eyes upon Umbridge. Hermione nudged Harry and pointed towards Malfoy; he was sniggering silently.<p>

"Idiot; probably thinks Professor Smith is going to have his pants kicked off by toad-face here," whispered Ron.

"I hope not," muttered the worried Hermione. "But I do wish he'd stop teaching us lies. He's as bad as Umbridge in that respect."

"How do you know he's not telling the truth? Because a book says different? Come on, Hermione, relax your faith in books and broaden your mind!" Ron shot back.

"Hmph!" said Hermione, and she folded her arms and waited for the class to begin.

"Hello everyone! You may have noticed that we have a guest today, Professor Umbridge, who's actually going to be _inspecting me_! I know!" said Professor Smith, misreading the anxious looks on most of the class' faces. "Anyway, today we are starting a new unit that covers one of the most important things in this universe – gravity, otherwise known as the force that keeps your two feet on the ground and stops you floating off to Zeta Minor! Terrible planet; you really wouldn't want to go there!"

"Anyway, mass, which is what gives an object weight, and gravity are linked; you cannot have one without the other. Any guesses on how gravity works?"

Surprisingly, not even Hermione raised her hand, but before Professor Smith could go on, Professor Umbridge gave her little cough and said: "I'll think you'll find, John, that this 'gravity' has always been known to wizards. You may recall that in 15,000 BC, the 35 warlocks of the 10th contingent of Egypt performed a spell that made physical objects bind to each other. Before this spell was performed, everything floated around during the night."

Professor Smith burst out laughing. "Really, you wizards believe _that_ complete and absolutely rubbish tale?"

Most people in the class nodded.

"Oh dear," sighed Professor Smith. "And I thought the Aztecs were bad. No, gravity is created by mass. Any object that has mass creates gravity. _I'm_ creating gravity, as are all of you. Gravity pulls objects together; this is what keeps the planets and the Earth in orbit around the sun. The sun pulls on the Earth, and the Earth pulls on the sun. Neither can escape from the pull of the other. That same principle applies to us. The Earth pulls on us, and we pull on the Earth."

"Sir," asked Pavarti Patil, "Why can't we fly?"

"Because the Earth's mass is too great. Remember that I said that mass and gravity were linked?"

"But sir, if the more mass an object has means that its gravitational pull is greater, then why doesn't the Earth crash into the sun?" asked Hermione.

"Because the Earth is travelling too fast in space. Its velocity is _precisely _what is needed to keep the Earth in a sustained orbit. If we were orbiting too fast, we'd zoom off into space, sort of what the daleks were attempting to do to this planet. Or will attempt..." he added thoughtfully.

The class neither knew nor cared what the daleks were, and just sat there, dumbfounded, as Professor Smith continued to ramble on about gravity, the fundamental force of the universe. Professor Umbridge, meanwhile, had been busy scribbling in her notebook. She finally stopped this behaviour after three quarters of the lesson, and proceeded to walk around the class, asking questions.

"Do you find these lessons interesting?" she asked Parvati, who looked from her book into which she was copying notes from the board.

"Umm, yes I do, but I don't understand much of what Professor Smith says," was Parvati's tentative reply.

"I see," said Umbridge with a satisfied smile on her face. She turned to Malfoy. "Do you think the information you learn in this class will help you after you have left school?"

"No, because no one I know cares about this gravity stuff," snickered Malfoy.

"Quite right," said Umbridge, patting Malfoy on the shoulder.

The bell rang and the class gathered their belongings together and began to leave.

"Professor Smith, a moment please!" cried Umbridge above the chatting students. Professor Smith went over to her. Upon seeing this, Harry, Ron and Hermione deliberately hung back to hear their teachers' conversation.

"When I came to see you before class began, you were in that blue box over there. What's in it, and why does it say 'police'? I believe that it is a muggle term," said Umbridge.

"The box holds my equipment that I will need for the sixth and seventh years. As for why it's got police written on it, well I saw it in a junk yard in London in 1963 and took a liking to it, so I bought it and use it as my storeroom and haven't painted out the words," explained Professor Smith.

Umbridge seemed satisfied with those answers, but still had one more question.

"When I asked you to tell me your age, you said you were...?"

"1, 568."

"Why are you lying to a Ministry official and your Inquisitor?"

"I'm not."

Umbridge stared long and hard into Professor Smith's eyes, trying to find evidence that he was lying. Despite Professor Smitih's youthful appearance, she could sense that he had seen many things, too many things for someone who looked so young. She finally looked away. "Very well. You will receive the results of your inspection in ten days."

She left the classroom, not even noticing Harry, Ron and Hermione standing outside, shocked. They peeked around the doorway only to see Professor Smith standing in a similar state of shock. Thinking that Umbridge had done something to him, Hermione nervously went up to him.

"Professor, are you alright?" she asked timidly.

"I've only just realised," he murmured, to her surprise. "I'm 1,568 years old. I'm nearing retirement age! Only thirty two years to go. I have been travelling for a long time, haven't I? I'm 1,568, with only two regenerations left! I really have to visit my granddaughter. I promised I'd go back, you know, when I was only about 325. It really has been too long. But why am I telling you this? I've been here for three weeks and I'm already saying too much to someone I've known for two. How humany-wumany of me."

He shook his head, recovering. "Out you go Miss Granger, I've got work to do."

"Yes Professor."

* * *

><p>Once the Doctor was sure that Hermione was out of earshot, he stepped into the TARDIS and looked at the display screen. The TARDIS was still deciphering the signal from the lake. Sighing, he set the controls for the late 22nd Century.<p>

"Now old girl," he said, patting the console. "Find Susan and David for me please. It's been too long."

As a reply, the handbrake lever automatically switched off. The Doctor smiled and began to run around the console, his hands moving expertly across the controls as the TARDIS dematerialised into the Time Vortex with its characteristic wheezing, groaning sound. From the outside, it appeared as if the blue box in classroom six had simply experienced the effects of a unusually noisy vanishing spell. This is exactly what a startled Mrs Norris saw before she ran off yowling to her beloved owner.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note: Zeta Minor was a planet visited by the Fourth Doctor in the 1975 serial 'Planet of Evil'. The Daleks once attempted to replace Earth's core with a power system and pilot the planet through the universe; this event is referred to by the Doctor in this chapter. The end of this chapter leads on to my story 'One Day, I Shall Come Back', which has the 11th Doctor meeting his granddaughter, Susan.<strong>


	8. Mystery

**Chapter 7 - Mystery**

Back at the Common Room late that evening, the trio were discussing the day's events with each other. The main focus, as usual, was Professor Smith. They were seated in their favourite armchairs around the fire, whilst Harry was soothing his right hand in a bowl full of Murtlap Essence after another of Umbridge's horrific detentions. They were alone in the Common Room apart from Fred, George and a few others.

"I'll bet that Malfoy wasn't happy," Ron was saying. "Smith didn't even flinch at Umbridge. He even sounded as if he _wanted_ an inspection! Weirdo."

"I don't know about you, but I was more interested in his conversation with Umbridge," said Hermione, "Particularly the part where he lied about his age. 1,568 years old indeed! Who does he think we are - imbeciles?"

"I think he's telling the truth," said Harry quietly.

"Harry!" exclaimed Hermione. "How can you believe him? No one in human history has lived that long – not even Nicholas Flamel."

"But that's just it, Hermione," said Harry. He made sure that there were no eavesdroppers before continuing. "Maybe he has a Philosopher's Stone!"

"But that would mean that he was born in – oh, I don't know – the fifth century or something. Nicholas Flamel didn't create the Philosopher's stone until the 14th! That's _nine hundred_ years difference! He can't have made a Stone; it's impossible."

"Just because there is no mention of a Philosopher's Stone before Flamel made one doesn't mean that Flamel's was the first, Hermione," said Ron sternly, "You have to stop trusting books to be right all the time, because they aren't."

"Rubbish," huffed Hermione. "I'm going to expose him for the liar he is!"

And she stalked off to the girls' dormitories without another word.

"It's Rita Skeeter all over again, mate," said Ron to Harry.

"Great," said Harry glumly.

At this point, Fred and George came over. They had managed to hear Hermione's declaration before she stormed off to bed.

"Hermione's got her knickers in a knot hasn't she," laughed Fred.

"You, know, sometimes I think Trelawney was right about her," said Ron thoughtfully.

"Why's that, little bro?" asked George.

Pausing only to punch his grinning brother, Ron continued.

"Well, she refuses to admit that books can be wrong. She treats books like they're the ultimate truth, and as Professor Smith has insisted that a book is wrong, she thinks he's a liar."

"What does that have to do with Trelawney?"

"Back in third year, Trelawney said that Hermione was narrow-minded. I think she's right."

"True," mused Fred. "But Trelawney's an old fraud. Anyway, George and I are going to bed. Goodnight."

"I'm going too... goodnight, Harry," Ron said hurriedly

"'Night, Ron," yawned Harry.

Harry closed his eyes and slowly dozed off in the armchair as the common room slowly emptied.

* * *

><p>Several hours later, he was awoken by a strange wheezing, groaning sound that seemed to be coming from right outside the portrait hole of the common room. Curious, he got up and made to push the portrait open, but stopped when he heard a voice from the other side.<p>

"Bother, forgot to put her on silent," the voice whispered. If Harry been less drowsy, he would have realised that the voice sounded a lot like Professor Smith.

"Where am I?" asked the voice. "Back at Hogwarts? Lumos! Ah, yes I am. Looks like the seventh floor corridor."

Harry opened the portrait to peek out, and he caught a glimpse of wand light before it went out.

"Oh, you don't like that infusion of radiation, do you?" said the voice in frustration. From the sounds coming from down the corridor, it appeared as if the owner of the voice was tapping an instrument against one of its hands. That soon stopped, and the voice went on.

"Got lost in the dark again, did you old girl?" the voice asked an invisible someone or something. "Don't worry; I'll park you back in my office tomorrow morning.

Just then, the wand's light came back, and Harry gasped when he saw who the owner of the voice was. It was Professor Smith. And it wasn't a wand that was emitting light. It was the chrome plated instrument with a green bulb that Harry had seen before in his science lessons.

Harry slowly closed the portrait hole and turned around only to see Hermione standing there looking at him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked after giving a cry of surprise.

"I woke up and remembered I had forgotten to put out the hats for the elves. What are you doing looking through the portrait hole?"

"Come and see."

Hermione pushed the portrait open slightly and looked out but the corridor was pitch black, as the Doctor had already started walking down to his office.

"What am I meant to be seeing?" asked a confused Hermione.

"Bother, he's already gone. Hang on."

Harry took his wand out of his back pocket.

"Lumos," he said, and the corridor was lit again, illuminating the TARDIS. Hermione gasped.

"That's Professor Smith's box! But what is it doing here?"

"Apparently it got lost in the dark." Harry replied. Noticing Hermione's confused look, he continued. "At least, that's what Professor Smith said when he was talking to it. 'Old girl' he called it."

"Hmm," said Hermione, and she opened the portrait fully before climbing through it and stepping out into the corridor. Harry followed her cautiously. Hermione now had her wand out. She nervously went up to the blue box. As they got closer, a strange humming sound could be heard.

"Hear that?" asked Harry.

"Yes, I think it's coming from the box," breathed Hermione in reply. She slowly reached out and touched the box, but immediately pulled her hand back with a cry of surprise.

"What?"

"The box, it's vibrating!"

"Rubbish," replied Harry, but he put his hand on the box anyway. To his surprise, it was vibrating, just as Hermione said. Harry looked at it thoughtfully. "It must be connected to a power supply somehow."

"How? Hogwarts isn't linked the power grid."

After offering a few theories as to how it got there, and what is was doing there and what Professor Smith used it for, they both gave it up and almost went back to bed before Harry came up with an obvious question:

"Why don't we try and get inside?"

"Of course!" exclaimed Hermione. "Why didn't I think of that before?"

"Beats me. Come on; help me get this door open."

They tried pulling, as the sign on the door said '_Pull to open.'_ but that didn't work, so they tried pushing instead. When that didn't work either, Harry and Hermione stopped briefly. Harry drew his wand.

"Alohomora," he said confidently, pointing the wand at the lock. This produced the desired clicking effect, and Harry turned to Hermione, grinning in triumph. This smile soon faded, however, when an alarm sounded and hologram of Professor Smith appeared. Harry and Hermione stepped back in shock before recovering enough to hear the hologram speak:

"This is Emergency Program 8. A foreign object or force has been detected in the locking mechanism. The locking mechanism has now melted. Lock regeneration will occur in 12 hours."

The hologram faded away.

"What the bloody hell was that?" asked a voice from behind.

Startled, Harry and Hermione turned to find a bewildered Ron standing in the doorway, pointing a finger at the space that had previously been occupied by the hologram.

"I dunno," said Harry. "Some sort of projection I guess. Anyway, what are you doing up?"

Ron looked slightly embarrassed. "Well, if you must know, I had a really bad nightmare about those spiders in the Forest. When I woke up, you weren't in your bed, so I came looking. You won't laugh will you, Harry, Hermione?"

"Of course not, Ron," answered Harry, who was fighting to hold back his amusement. Hermione, on the other hand, was still staring at the space the hologram had occupied.

"Hermione? Helloo! Are you alright?" asked Ron, waving his hand in front of her.

"Impossible," Hermione muttered.

"What is?"

"That projection. It's a hologram."

"You mean like those projected images in the Star Wars movies?" asked Harry, who, like Hermione, came from a muggle family, had once managed to watch the Star Wars movies whilst the Dursley's had been away.

"That's exactly what I mean," said Hermione grimly, "but as far as I'm aware, humans haven't invented them yet."

"So Professor Smith has managed to invent holograms before everyone else?"

"Yes!" Hermione's brow was furrowed in concentration. Professor Smith did not make sense at all. How could he be so technologically advanced?

"I've got a few questions if you don't mind!" piped up Ron. "But what is a moovlie? And why did the stars suddenly decided to go to war?"

Harry and Hermione just looked at each other, grinning.


	9. The Mystery Deepens

**Chapter 8 – The Mystery Deepens **

The Doctor's visit to the 22nd Century had lasted a month, and it had taken a great effort to come back to Hogwarts after seeing his three great-grandchildren running about in the rebuilt London. In fact, he had been so distracted by the memory of them that he didn't realise that he'd set the TARDIS controls to land in Hogwarts at 4 am, and so didn't activate the silent materialisation feature. Deciding to leave the TARDIS where it had landed (the seventh floor corridor), and with his sonic screwdriver playing up, the Doctor had gone back to his office down on the first floor, intending to have one of his rare naps and then park the TARDIS back in Classroom 6. What he didn't expect, however, was a signal from his sonic screwdriver indicating that Emergency Program 8 had been activated. Annoyed, the Doctor turned around, having only made it to the third floor. While running back to the seventh floor, he received another signal from his sonic screwdriver alerting him to the fact that the signal the TARDIS had picked up some time previously had been deciphered. This made him even more annoyed, as he knew he had to wait 12 hours to get back into the TARDIS now that Emergency Program 8 had been activated. He turned the corner of the seventh floor only to see Harry, Ron and Hermione standing around the TARDIS. Frowning, he made his way up to them.

Harry and Hermione had been telling Ron all about the Star Wars movies.

"So let me get this right: The Emperor corrupted Anakin Skywalker, making him Darth Vader, but didn't know that Anakin had two children, Luke and Leia?" asked Ron anxiously.

Before either Harry or Hermione could respond, another voice called out from down the corridor:

"Yes, Mr Weasley, that's right, but what Mr Potter and Miss Granger don't know is exactly how Anakin was corrupted."

It was Professor Smith, sounding very annoyed. Hermione, tired and cross at not being able to access the blue box, fired up at once, making no indication that she was surprised at Professor Smith's sudden appearance.

"And I suppose you do?"

Professor Smith smiled. "Why, yes, Miss Granger, I do. I attended the premieres of Episodes I, II and III. George Lucas is an old friend of mine."

Hermione snorted in disbelief. "Rubbish.

Professor Smith whipped a photo out of his jacket pocket. "Oh yeah? Me and George attending the re-release of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith in 3D in 2014. That's Steven Speilberg on the left," he said triumphantly. Turning to Ron, he added, "Anyway, Anakin went like this, and then Obi-Wan went like this..." and proceed to act out part of the climactic battle between Obi-Wan and Anakin, complete with sound effects and a mock lightsaber hand grip."

The trio just stood there, watching their Professor's childish display. When he finally finished his mock fight, he turned his attention to them, his face now deadly serious.

"Why are you three out here at this time of night? You all deserve a detention," he said, slightly out of breath.

Hermione quickly cut in before the others could reply. "Well, Professor, we were actually investigating this blue box."

"Did you try opening it by any chance?"

"Yes, but it didn't work -"

"No, I wouldn't imagine that it did," muttered Professor Smith under his breath.

"- then a hologram appeared, and it said something about the lock melting, and that it would ... regenerate in twelve hours."

Professor Smith groaned. "Why, why, WHY did you try and get in? Now I won't know what that signal means for another 12 hours! Do you have any idea of what you've done? That signal could be a message that could potentially mean the end of the world if I don't act upon it immediately. And now you've delayed me for 12 hours!"

Harry timidly asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "Professor, what do you mean, signal? What signal?"

Professor Smith hesitated before replying. "I mean detention for all three of you for being out of bed. I'll let you know what you have to do after our next lesson. Now go to bed; I can't let anyone interfere."

Hermione finally cracked. This professor was mysterious, and went against everything logical. She just _had_ to know who he really was. "Who are you, Professor, really? You look like you've just turned up from Oxford, and you look know older than 30, yet claim to be over one thousand years old. And what is this blue box? Why do you act as if you think we're all so stupid? In other words, why do you lie?" she shrieked, looking quite demented. Harry and Ron were amazed at this outrageous behaviour.

Professor Smith just stood there, smiling slightly. "I'll just answer one of those questions for now, Miss Granger," he said softly. "This face, I know, looks no older than 30. But see these eyes? They're old eyes, older than you could possibly imagine. Now forget all that you know about me and my blue box. I'm just your eccentric science teacher who teaches lies. That's all you know. Now," he said, voice returning to normal. "You and your friends had better get back to bed. You've got a big day tomorrow, and I'm sure the High Inquisitor won't let you off if she sees you yawning during one of her inspections. Good night." And with that he turned and walked back down the corridor leaving Harry, Ron and Hermione to look at each other, shrug their shoulders, and walk back through the portrait hole.

The Doctor waited a couple of minutes until he was sure they had gone back to bed. He then crept back up the corridor, took his sonic screwdriver from his jacket pocket, fiddled with the controls, and pointed it at the TARDIS. The machine silently dematerialised. The Doctor smiled, knowing that he'd find it back in the Science classroom tomorrow morning.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8.5<strong>

The crew of the alien spaceship had now been fully revived, and they held a meeting in the control room.

"Reports indicate that this body of water will be sufficient enough to release the Skarasen," hissed the first alien.

"Good," replied a second alien, the Commander. "We will use it to scout the immediate landscape. If we detect any intelligent life, we will capture a specimen for study. Any other observations?"

"No sir, nothing to report."

"Excellent. Now, release the Skarasen!"

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note: If you're a Doctor Who fan, the Skarasen will be familiar, and will give you a hint to the identity of the aliens!<strong>


	10. Abduction

**Chapter 9 - Abduction**

"Signal reads: Scout ship to Mothership and Invasion Fleet. Scout ship has crashed in a body of water on Sol 3. Power levels recharging. Surveillance of area will begin once crew is revived. No sign of previous scout ship," read the Doctor. He had finally managed to get into the TARDIS to read the decoded message from the lake. He sighed. Why was he always the one stopping alien invasions?

* * *

><p>Weeks passed, and the weather slowly started to cool down, welcoming in October, which meant that the Quidditch season was about to start. The House Teams were out practising at every chance they got. The Doctor would often see seven figures in the air during his daily evening walks around the school grounds.<p>

"Enjoying your time here, John?" said Dumbledore's familiar voice behind Doctor as he stared up at the Gryffindor Team's last practise session before saturday's match between Gryffindor and Slytherin.

"What? Oh, yes, I am," replied the Doctor, slightly startled by Dumbledore's sudden appearance.

"That's good. I must admit, I wasn't too sure that your subject would be popular, but it appears as if the majority of students are enjoying your classes. I must congratulate you on this; you've put in a fine effort."

"Thanks. I've only had one previous teaching experience, and that only lasted a few days before I had to blow the school up. Well, until I had to tell a robot dog to blow the school up. Long story," he said hastily, noticing Dumbledore's expression of incredulity. "It's not something I make a habit of..."

The Doctor and Dumbledore continued to talk as the landscape slowly grew darker. The Gryffindors finished their practise and began walking back up to the Castle. As the Gryffindors walked past, Dumbledore said goodbye to the Doctor and went over to Fred and George Weasley and began to talk to them. From what the Doctor could hear, Dumbledore was trying to find out what Fred and George were using the first-years to test. The Doctor laughed in his head. He seriously doubted that Dumbledore would get the information he needed. Shaking his head in amusement, he too started making his way back up to the school.

* * *

><p>Harry and Ron were still in the changing rooms. Harry was trying to support Ron after their training session had again been interrupted by some Slytherins. Ron, as usual, had been the victim.<p>

"You'll be fine, Ron. Just don't listen to what Malfoy and the Slytherins were singing. They're trying to unnerve you," Harry told a depressed Ron.

"Yeah. Whatever," Ron wasn't convinced.

Harry gave up, told Ron he'd see him at dinner, and went up to the school. Ron sat down on a bench, angry with himself. He knew that Harry was only trying to help him with his teasing problem, but his pride seemed to stop him from accepting his best mate's help. He got up and started walking across the grounds, telling himself that he'd apologise to Harry as soon as he could.

* * *

><p>The Skarasen's head and neck silently broke the surface of the lake. Even though it was a cyborg, it strongly resembled a plesiosaur, so much in fact, that even a palaeontologist might have confused the two. Back in the crashed spaceship, the crew used camera's in the Skarasen's eyes to see what it saw.<p>

"It appears we are close to an establishment of some sort," observed the first alien.

"Yessss," replied the Commander. He then noticed a lone figure walking across the grounds close to the building. "Capture that creature for diagnosis, replication and interrogation."

"At once, Commander.

* * *

><p>'<em>Hogwarts really is beautiful,<em>' Ron thought as he looked up at the majestic castle, the light from the windows reflecting in the lake to the right of Ron. A low growl behind him interrupted his thoughts.

"Who's there?" he asked, slightly nervous. Memories of an encounter with a werewolf two years previously were still very prominent. He drew his wand. "Lumos. Is that you, Malfoy? It's not funny; you're just being a coward as usual."

Another growl. His wand's light did not illuminate much of the surrounding darkness, so he couldn't see what was making the noise. Deciding that it was probably an animal, Ron approached the lake, where the sound seemed to be coming from.

Suddenly, a massive shape loomed above him. Startled, Ron fell back with a cry of surprise, dropping his wand in the process. He looked up, only to see a blue light emitting from the shape. He felt his body begin to vibrate before everything went black.

The Skarasen shut off its teleportation beam and slipped back into the dark waters of the Black Lake. In the alien scout ship, the crew inspected Ron's unconscious body.

"His features are delicate," observed one of the crew. "We will have to take care when putting him in the replication cell."

"Yessss," hissed the Commander. He pointed at an alien standing back from the operating table. "Broton, you will assume this creature's form. Go up to the dwelling and infiltrate it. Find out what these creatures do there."

"I hear and obey, Commander," Broton said. He lifted Ron's body and placed it upright in a holding cell nearby. He then stepped into an identical cell next to Ron's. The Commander pulled a lever and Broton's shape began to blur, his head shrinking, his skin becoming paler... In no time at all, there were two Ron Weasley's in the alien ship.

The Ron that had previously been Broton stepped forward. "The memories I have obtained from my body-print have indicated that this creature is a poor swimmer. I ask to be teleported ashore."

"Request granted," whispered the Commander, and he pressed the appropriate button.

'Ron' appeared on the shore of the lake in a haze of blue light. He noticed a thin stick on the ground.

"The creature used this object. Pick it up and keep it for the time being." The Commander's voice echoed in his head. These aliens could communicate by telepathy. 'Ron' obeyed, bending down to pick the stick up clumsily before dropping it into a pocket.

"Proceed to the building and investigate."

'Ron' turned and walked jerkily up to the imposing castle. Meanwhile, the real Ron slept on in the replication cell, held captive by the anaesthetic in his bonds.

* * *

><p>Back in the Common Room, Harry was starting to worry about Ron's absence. His best friend had not turned up for dinner, but Harry had simply put this down to the fact that Ron may have forgotten. This was unlikely, however, as Ron's appetite was famous throughout Gryffindor House. All the same, this did not bother Harry unduly, and was confident he'd find Ron waiting for them in the Common Room, but when he got there, Ron's disappearance was even more conspicuous.<p>

"Hermione, you haven't seen Ron anywhere, have you?" Harry asked his other best friend, tapping her several times on the shoulder in an effort to distract her from her work.

"Hang on...Yes, I've finished!" she exclaimed happily, turning to Harry with a piece of parchment in her hand.

"What's on that parchment, Hermione?" Harry asked apprehensively, remembering that Hermione had vowed to discover as much as she could about Professor Smith. Although this declaration had been several weeks ago, Hermione hadn't forgotten, nor had she obeyed Professor Smith's instruction to 'forget him' after a strange late-night encounter with him and his blue box.

"This is a list of everything we know about Professor Smith," she said, waving the parchment under Harry's nose. "Read it!"

Harry took the parchment and began to read:

_Professor Smith – Facts_

_Claims to be 1,568 years old when he looks no older than 30 _

_Graduated from the Magical Scientific Institute of Canberra 15 years ago (Is there such an Institution?)_

_Has a strange instrument that has a green diode at one end and emits a whirring sound. Prof. Smith claims that this is his wand. _

_Claims to have travelled both forwards and backwards in time _

_Owns a blue box that he allegedly bought in a junkyard in 1963. The box can somehow move and project holograms. Prof. 'Smith refers to the box as 'old girl'._

_Teaches lies about magic, but claims that what he teaches is true. _

_Has a granddaughter that he hasn't visited since he was 350._

Harry groaned. Hermione was clearly doing her best to find out everything she could about Professor Smith.

"Why, Hermione? Why do you want to find out absolutely everything about him?"

"Because I want to know where he got all his false ideas from," answered Hermione, snatching the piece of parchment back before Harry could respond.

Harry was sure that this wasn't the case, and opened his mouth to reply, but at that moment, Ron walked in, detouring slightly by walking straight into the wall. Harry rushed over to help him, but Ron shrugged him off. Harry just stood and watched his best mate walk over to Hermione. He hadn't even reacted when he ran into the wall. Something was clearly wrong. Perhaps he'd been hit by a confundus charm.

"Hel-lo, Her-mi-on-e," said Ron, his voice not expressing any emotion.

"Hey, Ron," said Hermione absently, not looking up from her ancient runes homework that she was now engrossed in. "Where have you been? We were starting to get worried."

"I have been talk-ing to ... Fred and George a-bout their use of the first-years as test subjects for their skiving snackboxes." Ron seemed to be recovering, now speaking fluently and confidently

Hermione was surprised. "Really? It's about time you stepped up to your position as Prefect!"

Ron looked confused for a second. "Prefect? Yes, that's right, I am a Prefect."

Harry reappeared, a small note in his hand. "Ginny just gave me this; it's from Professor Smith. He says our detention will be tomorrow night at 8pm. It's about time, don't you think? It's been weeks since he found us with his box. "

"I suppose he must be busy," said Ron. "I am going to bed. Good night." And he turned and disappeared up the spiral staircase without another word.

"I think someone's put a confundus charm on him," whispered Harry to Hermione, before following his friend up the stairs to his dormitory.

Hermione sat and pondered this for a few minutes before adding a note to her list of facts about Professor Smith. She then packed up her books and went to bed as well.


	11. Quidditch and Detention

**Chapter 10 – Quidditch and Detention  
><strong>

'Quidditch today!' Harry thought excitedly as he woke up early the next morning. He looked round at Ron's bed and saw him sitting bolt upright, his arms around his knees, staring fixedly into space.

"You alright?" asked Harry.

Ron made no indication that he had heard what Harry had said. Harry quickly decided that Ron needed a good breakfast before the match.

"You just need something to eat," Harry said encouragingly. "C'mon."

They received a rousing welcome at the Gryffindor table, where everyone was wearing red and gold, but the cheers did not seem to raise Ron's morale at all. He just sat down and stared at his plate of porridge as if it was a pile of alien mush. Everyone who wasn't cheering looked at him, wondering why he wasn't eating, as Ron was famous for his appetite. As if obeying some unheard command, he jerked into action, shovelling mouthfuls of porridge into his mouth so fast that his cheeks began to swell.

After Luna Lovegood revealed her support for Gryffindor, Harry and Ron headed down to the pitch and to Angelina's pre-match pep talk.

"Ok, I've only just found out the final line-up for Slytherin," said Angelina, consulting a piece of parchment. "They've got two new beaters; some blokes called Crabbe and Goyle."

Harry's stomach plummeted. Not good news.

Angelina checked her watch. "It's time," she said in a hushed voice. "C'mon everyone ... good luck."

The team rose, shouldered their brooms and marched out of the changing room and into the dazzling sunlight. A roar of sound greeted them, through which singing could just be made out. The Slytherin team was standing waiting for them.

"Captains, shake hands," ordered referee Madam Hooch, as Angelina and Montague reached each other. "Mount your brooms ..."

Madam Hooch placed her whistle in her mouth and blew.

'_Good luck, Ron_,' Harry thought as he zoomed higher, eyes searching everywhere for the Snitch.

It soon became apparent that Harry's wish had worked: Ron had not let a single goal through. This raised the whole team's morale, and the chasers were scoring every two minutes or so. The Slytherin watchers were not happy, booing and hissing every time the ball came near a Gryffindor player.

"And Gryffindor leads 290 to nil," roared Lee Jordan, a smug grin splattered across his face. "Take that you dirty little Slytherin-"

"JORDAN!" shouted Professor McGonagall.

"Sorry, Professor."

Malfoy flew up beside Crabbe and Goyle. "We've got to take Weasley out of action; he's too good. Both of you hit the bludgers at him – I don't care whether it's illegal or not, got it?" he commanded fiercely.

Crabbe and Goyle nodded dumbly and sped off towards Ron.

* * *

><p>Broton was having a marvellous time. Using Ron's memories, he had worked out how this game was played. He was glad to discover that his superior reflexes enabled him to block every attempt by the Slytherins at scoring. He laughed. Maybe being this pathetic creature wasn't so bad after all. He noticed that two players were coming towards him, and they weren't carrying the object that was used to score. He saw them raise their bats and hit two small black balls at him. <em>Impact!<em> The balls barely troubled him and he manoeuvred quickly to block another attempt at goal. The watching Slytherins howled in disappointment. Broton smiled. This was getting fun.

* * *

><p>Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle looked at Ron in amazement as the two bludgers seemed to bounce off him.<p>

'_How did he do that?_' Malfoy asked himself before deciding that Crabbe and Goyle mustn't have hit the bludgers hard enough. He made to turn on them, but a triumphant Lee Jordan interrupted him.

"Harry Potter catches the Snitch! Gryffindor win 480 to nil! Harry Potter catches the Snitch while the Slytherin Seeker is too busy staring at the superior build of the Gryffindor Keeper! Gryffindor wins!

"Damn!" spat Malfoy.

* * *

><p>'<em>Wow!<em>' thought the Doctor as he left the stands. '_I wonder how they manipulate the demet radiation to create a low pressure system underneath the brooms?_'

The Doctor was very impressed with the Quidditch match, and could easily see why the game was so popular. He had supported Gryffindor, as he had found the Slytherins to be an unpleasant group of people. But, as usual, trouble seemed to follow him. He had noticed that the two small balls called bludgers had simply bounced off Ron's chest. Using his knowledge of the resistance of the human body under pressure, he knew that Ron should have been winded, at the very least. This development meant that either Ron was super strong, or that an alien with shape-shifting technology had copied Ron's body.

'_It would make sense if an alien had taken his form,_' thought the Doctor, as he followed the crowd of cheering Gryffindors back up to the school. '_After all, I know for certain that there is alien activity around this castle. But what species is involved? Shape-shifting technology narrows the list down to several thousand species, but that's not good enough. I suppose I'll just have to investigate Mr Weasley when he's doing his detention tonight.'_

* * *

><p>At ten to eight that night, Harry and Hermione dragged themselves away from the victory celebration to go to their detention. They waited for Ron outside the portrait hole, as he was somewhat hampered in his efforts to reach his friends by the extreme proximity of the entirety of Gryffindor House, dancing around him and saying 'well done' for the millionth time. Not that it seemed to bother Ron, who patiently waited for the path to clear with absolutely no expression on his face.<p>

"Are you alright, Ron?" asked Harry as the trio made their way to Professor Smith's office.

"Yes, I am fine," said Ron, staring straight ahead.

Harry was worried. Ron would normally be boasting of his performance during the Quidditch match, but so far hadn't even mention the game itself. Harry found this odd, but decided that Ron was still under the effects of a confundus charm, albeit a very strong one. The group came to Professor Smith's office door and Hermione went up to it and knocked confidently.

"Come in," said Professor Smith's voice. Hermione pushed open the door. Professor Smith looked up from his work.

"Just preparing for our next lesson," he said, reading their minds. "I'm sorry about the lateness of this detention, but I just couldn't fit it into my schedule. Now, all we're going to be doing today is-"

"_Hem, hem,_" coughed someone from the doorway. Startled Harry and Hermione spun around to see Professor Umbridge standing in the doorway. Ron remained facing Professor Smith.

"Oh, err, hello!" said Professor Smith, trying to ease the tension. "I must say, you're arrival was very ... unexpected."

"I'm only trying carry out my job, John," said Umbridge sweetly. "I heard that these three have detentions with you this evening."

"Well, yes, but what has that got to do with you?"

Umbridge held up a piece of parchment and started to read from it. "Educational Decree Number Twenty-five. The High Inquisitor will henceforth have supreme authority over all punishments, sanctions and removal of privileges pertaining to the students of Hogwarts, and the power to alter such punishments, sanctions and removals of privileges as may have been ordered by other staff members. Signed, Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic, Order of Merlin First Class, etc."

Harry struggled to comprehend this latest decree, and how it affected him at this point in time. "So you're going to force Professor Smith to give us a worse punishment than he was originally going to?"

Umbridge opened her mouth to reply, but Hermione interrupted her. "No, she isn't," she explained, giving Umbridge a potent look of revulsion. "She's going to commandeer this detention and punish us herself."

Harry's heart filled with dread. The thought of another night of carving words into his own flesh was almost too much to bear. Professor Smith stepped forward.

"I can't let you do that, Dolores," he said, his voice dangerously soft.

Umbridge looked at him with an air of superiority. "Oh, and why not? May I remind you that you only just passed your Inspection? Hinder me now and a 'probation' may just find its way to you."

"Inspection results don't matter to me, Dolores, but children's rights do. I've heard rumours about what happens in your detentions, and I'm giving you one warning. I'm the Doctor, the Oncoming Storm. Stop your torturing and I'll leave you in peace, but if you don't, remember, you brought it upon yourself."

Umbridge drew herself up to her full height. "How dare you threaten me? You are on probation! Mr Potter, Miss Granger and Mr Weasley, if you'll all come with me."

Harry and Hermione reluctantly followed Umbridge out the Doctor. Ron just turned and lumbered after them, indifferent. Professor Smith sighed and sunk into a nearby chair. He shouldn't have lost control like that. What was he thinking, mentioning his name?

"I hope Miss Granger didn't pick up my slip of tongue," he muttered to himself, before busying himself with preparing his next fifth-year lesson.

'_I'm the Doctor, the Oncoming Storm_'. The thought echoed around Hermione's head as she was lead to Umbridge's office. '_I've got you now, Professor Smith, or should I say, _Doctor_?_' she thought trimumpantly.


	12. Findings and an Astronomy Lesson

**Chapter 11 – Findings and an Astronomy Lesson  
><strong>

Broton stood alone in the Boys' Dormitory, apparently staring out the window.

"Broton reporting ," he said, using telepathy to communicate with his Commander.

"Go ahead," replied the Commander's voice.

"I have successfully infiltrated the dwelling. It appears to be some sort of establishment. The creatures are weak and puny. We will have no trouble subjugating them."

"Excellent, excellent," hissed the Commander's voice. "I will alert the Mothership. The time of the Zygons has arrived!"

Suddenly, Harry burst into the Dormitory. "Ron, Hermione wants to see us in the Library right now."

"I am coming," said Broton, and he quickly severed the telepathic link between him and his Commander before following Harry out the door.

* * *

><p>"Ok Hermione, we're here," Harry said to a huge pile of books on one of the tables.<p>

"Sit down," said the books impatiently.

Ron was confused. "Books do not talk, do they?"

Hermione's head appeared from behind the pile of books. "Honestly, Ron, use your brains!" she said crossly, before lowering her voice. "I've found out something about Professor Smith!"

Harry was intrigued in spite of himself. "Really? Something that gives us a clue to his identity?"

Hermione nodded her head. "Yes. Do you remember yesterday how he said something like: 'I'm the Doctor, the Oncoming Storm'?"

"Yes," said Harry slowly.

"Well, I looked 'Doctor' up in the library-"

"Surprise, surprise," said Harry sarcastically. Hermione threw him a withering look before continuing.

"And a found a bit about him. Here, read this," she finished, passing him a book (Mysteries of the Wizarding World) and pointing to a particular passage. Harry started to read:

_The Doctor_

_This mysterious individual has appeared up several times in Wizarding History, most notably in Egypt in 457 BC, around the time when Lycanthropy (the disease that werewolves suffer from) first appeared. This has lead to many important historians suggesting that 'the Doctor' actually caused the disease himself. According to one Egyptian Warlock '_He appeared along with his 3 servants in a blue temple that made the Pyramids echo with its sound. He brought death to the land, as a wolf started to attack regularly soon after he and his friends had arrived. I helped drive them from the Kingdom of Egypt, but the attacks still continued. I realise now that he and his servants were gods, and that the wolf was punishment for the sins of Egypt'. _Hieroglyphics depicting this 'god' and his temple have been discovered, and quite remarkably, this 'god' dresses in what appears to be modern clothing: a jacket, trousers and a bow tie. There are many theories that explain how this occurs but the most likely one, says Bathilda Bagshot, is that 'the Doctor' used a time turner to travel back in time. '_It's quite obvious, really,'_ says Bathilda in her home in Godric's Hollow. '_How else would he be wearing modern clothing if he wasn't from our present – or future?'_ What Miss Bagshot is implying is that 'the Doctor' may be with us right now, not knowing that he'll be in Egypt in 457 BC very soon. For a full list of 'the Doctor's' rumoured appearances, turn to page 432. What the Doctor's 'Blue Temple' looked like, no one knows, as no hieroglyphics depicting it have been found._

Harry finished reading, comprehension dawning on his face. "So you think that Professor Smith is the person called 'the Doctor', and that the blue temple is his blue box?"

Hermione nodded vigorously. "Yes, even the description of the Doctor's clothes matches Professor Smith's! But I can't prove it yet; I need to research more over the holidays. "

Ron, who had been staring into space, spoke. "Holidays? When are the holidays?"

"They're only in a few weeks," answered Hermione. She was suddenly struck by a pain in her left hand. "Ouch! These cuts are taking ages to heal," she said, rubbing her hand. The outline of the words: '_I must not support those who tell lies_' were faintly visible.

"I bet Umbridge cursed them to make sure they gave us a much pain as possible," said Harry gloomily, rubbing his on hand where similar words were etched. "How are yours, Ron?"

Ron turned showed Harry his hand. "They have been completely healed."

Harry and Hermione gasped.

"How did you do that?" asked Harry, astounded.

Ron shrugged. "Natural ability probably."

Harry and Hermione shared a suspicious glace before packing up and heading back to the Common Room. Hermione explained more about her discoveries on the way.

"It's quite amazing, actually, how often the Doctor has appeared. Most reports have him looking like Professor Smith, but others depict him slightly different. Anyway, another sighting was during the construction of Hogwarts; apparently he was instrumental in making sure that Hogwarts was built next to a lake."

"Is this mentioned in 'Hogwarts: A History'?" asked Harry as they passed the fifth floor.

"No!" said Hermione, emphasizing the point. "I'm actually surprised; I would've thought that the authors would have mentioned it, but then again, the house elves aren't mentioned either. I wonder..." she trailed off thoughtfully. Harry rolled his eyes and glanced at Ron, who was looking straight ahead with a blank expression on his face.

'This confundus charm better clear up soon,' thought Harry worriedly, before thinking of another question to ask Hermione.

"Do you reckon we should ask Professor Smith about all this?" he said, jumping over a trick step.

Hermione pursed her lips. "No," she said finally. "I mean, if Bathilda Bagshot is right, then he doesn't know that he's going to be in Egypt soon. We could disrupt the timeline!"

"Not if he only went to Egypt because we told him that he'd eventually go to Egypt," replied Ron in a monotone.

Hermione was flabbergasted. "That's a really good idea, Ron!" she said. "But it's not one I'd like to test. What if we were wrong?"

Ron just shrugged and continued walking.

* * *

><p>Later, when he was alone again, Broton contacted the downed scout ship. "Broton reporting," he said telepathically. "Search files for individual named 'The Doctor'. Broton out."<p>

* * *

><p>"Hello everyone!" said Professor Smith as he bounded into classroom 6 on Monday afternoon. Most of the class yawned in response. Professor Smith may have a lot of unused energy, but they certainly didn't.<p>

Malfoy raised his hand. "Sir, we aren't doing gravity again are we? My brain hurts from the sound of your voice going on and on and on and on..."

Crabbe and Goyle sniggered, but Professor Smith was unimpressed. "No, Mr Malfoy, we're not doing gravity again. It's time to turn to the amazing, the wonderful Astronomy!" he cried, doing a silly twirl.

"But sir," came Hermione's all-too-familiar voice. "We already do astronomy!"

Professor Smith was indignant. "You already do astronomy? Rubbish. No, hang on; I do remember Professor Umbridge mentioning it to me. Oh, and I suppose that's what Professor Sinistra teaches."

"Yes, sir," said Harry, almost apologetically. "We've been doing it since first year, so we know quite a lot."

"Ok then, I'll test you. Name two planets in the Isop Galaxy?"

No reply, just exchanged looks of confusion.

"What is the closest star to Earth?"

No reply.

"No one?" said Professor Smith, disappointed. "I'll give you a hint. It starts with 'Pr', ends in 'ma' and has 'oxi' in the middle."

"Proxima Centauri, of course!" said Hermione. "We studied that star only weeks ago. It's a member of the ternary star system along with Alpha Centauri A and B."

Professor Smith was impressed. "Well done, Miss Granger, there may be there is some hope for you yet. Anyway, Proxima Centauri, also called Alpha Centauri C, is the third star of the closest solar system to Earth. In fact, it was the destination of the first human lightspeed ship in 2089!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. Professor Umbridge, who had been standing in a corner at the back of the classroom, spoke up. "John, you may have forgotten, but it is only the 5th of November, 1995."

Professor Smith blinked. "Really?" He checked his watch. "So it is! Never mind; ninety-four years isn't going to make much difference in terms of technological achievement. I mean, all you are going to do is face the Oil Apocalypse, establish a manned base on Mars..."

Malfoy groaned very loudly, which brought Professor Smith back to his senses.

"Sorry, I'm rambling; happens when I'm really excited, because I LOVE astronomy!" he exclaimed. He practically ran to a small cupboard and took out a dome with a picture of the galaxy covering it. As the class strained their necks to get a better look, Professor Smith put it on his desk, took out his chrome 'wand', pointed it at the dome, and pressed the button.

"Wow!" breathed the class collectively. The dome had lit up and was now displaying a 3D map of the galaxy around the class. Professor Smith walked to one of the outer-arms of the galaxy and pointed to a specific point.

"This is your solar system. Come closer, to get a better look," he said, grinning at the class' stunned looks.

The class edged closer, and saw that, next to Professor Smith's finger, tiny planets were orbiting around a slightly larger star.

"Now, using your knowledge of astronomy, could you please find Proxima Centauri?"

It took Hermione about half a second to find the star, along with its 2 friends.

"Here it is!" she said excitedly. "Hmm, I didn't realise that it was so close to earth."

"That's because, relative to the galaxy, it is. The galaxy's 100 thousand light-years across; the distance from Earth to Proxima is only 4.2. Now, if you'll turn your attention to this star. It's called Sirius..."

Malfoy groaned again. The holidays couldn't come soon enough.


	13. Confrontation

**Chapter 12 - Confrontation**

A few days before the end of term, Harry dreamt that he was a snake attacking Mr Weasley. The result was that he and the entire Weasley family were sent to Grimmauld Place, where Harry spent several days feeling very depressed, as he believed that he was the weapon that Voldemort was rumoured to be looking for, or worse, already using. It wasn't until Hermione arrived a few days before Christmas that he finally realised that he wasn't the weapon at all, and gladly helped everyone prepare the house for December 25.

* * *

><p>Christmas Eve made the house more alive than it ever had been. Sirius was singing Christmas Carol's at the top of his voice, and even Lupin was smiling continuously. Only Ron didn't seem to be enjoying himself, standing in a corner of the living room and not talking to anyone. He had shrugged off concerned adults, saying that he was tired. Consequently, Harry, Hermione, Fred, Ginny and George were discussing what to do with him.<p>

"He's been like this for weeks now, the big prat," whispered Ginny. "Maybe he's trying to get some attention."

"He got all the attention his ego could need after the Quidditch match, though," countered Fred after taking a mouthful of butterbeer.

"I've been telling myself that he was hit by a very powerful confundus charm," said Harry miserably, "but now I don't think that's the case."

"Dumbledore will know what to do," said George reassuringly. "We can ask someone to tell him about Ron later tonight."

Hermione didn't seem interested in the conversation at all. "It's a bit cold in here, isn't it?" she asked, moving to get closer to the warmth coming from the nearby fire.

"It is, actually," agreed Ginny, seconds before a faint wheezing, groaning sound began emanating from somewhere upstairs.

"Hang on," said Harry slowly. "I've heard that sound before. That night when I fell asleep in the common room, when we found-"

He was interrupted by a final _thud_ that shook the house and knocked several plates of food that had been balancing precariously on the sofas. The disturbance echoed downstairs, and soon Tonks, Mad-Eye, Lupin, Kingsley, Sirius and Mrs Weasley came running up the stairs from the kitchen.

"What's happening up here?" asked Mrs Weasley crossly, hands on hips.

Before anyone could answer, Professor Smith came tumbling down the stairs.

"Oof, ow, ouch!" he cried, before coming to a rest at Sirius' feet. Sirius stepped back hurriedly and drew his wand.

"Hello, Professor!" said George brightly.

Professor Smith jumped to his feet and dusted himself off. "Hello Professor? Honestly, I roll down the stairs of a house nowhere near Hogwarts, and all you say is _hello_?" he said, feigning disbelief. "Oh, and you might want to step back. I landed somewhere very unstable..."

With several loud _thuds_ and crashes, the TARDIS followed its operator down the stairs, sliding into the living room and coming to rest next to Professor Smith, who patted it fondly.

Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Fred and George gasped.

"That's your blue box!" said Hermione.

"Yeah, I know; that's how I got here. Whoa!" said Professor Smith, as he realised that there were several adults in the room with their wands pointed directly over the place where they though his heart would be. "I can explain everything!"

Mad-Eye didn't wait for any explanations. "Stupefy!" he snarled, sending a jet of red light towards the Doctor. The spell bounced off an invisible wall some distance from the Professor Smith.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot. The TARDIS has a force field that's protecting me from any spell you use. You won't get through even if you use the most powerful spell in existence, which in any case, hasn't been invented yet, and technically, it's not a spell at all, more like a highly concentrated jet of radiation that causes an object to resonate to pieces. Sorry, rambling, because I don't like wands being pointed at me!"

The adults slowly lowered their wands.

"Thank you," said Professor Smith.

"Who are you?" asked Mrs Weasley eyeing him with suspicion.

"He's a teacher at Hogwarts, Mrs Weasley," said explained Hermione tentatively.

"That doesn't explain how he waltzed into the most secure house in Britain," said Tonks, staring at Professor Smith with a look of curiosity

Professor Smith snorted. "Secure? There's no such thing. All I had to do was track down the biological signature of the person called Ron Weasley to find this place. He is here, isn't he?" he added worriedly. "The TARDIS isn't known for her accuracy; I suppose I could be off by about a year either way..."

"Here I am, sir," said Ron, stepping away from his corner for the first time.

"Don't go near him, Ron," ordered Mrs Weasley. "He could be dangerous."

"Nonsense, mum," said Fred. "He teaches us at school. I'd be more worried about Umbridge than Professor Smith."

"Fred's right, Molly," said Sirius. "He's had ample time to hurt them at school."

Professor Smith, meanwhile, had taken out his chrome 'wand' and was pointing it at Ron. A green light lit up and a whirring sound issued from it.

"What are you doing?" asked Mrs Weasley.

"Oh, nothing much. Just scanning his biological signature for traces of human DNA, which," he said, inspecting the chrome device, "there seems to be none of. Interesting..."

Hermione was confused. "No human DNA! But that's absurd! Ron's as human as you or me!"

"Which isn't saying much if I'm not human, is it, Miss Granger?" replied Professor Smith before turning his attention to Ron. "Right, whatever you are, I'm giving you one chance to explain what you're doing dressing up like Ron Weasley. You have 20 seconds."

Ron took one look at the Professor Smith before he turned and ran up the stairs.

"No you don't!" shouted the Professor Smith, and he ran up the stairs after Ron's disappearing figure. Everyone else in the room took one glance at each other before hastening up the stairs as well.

* * *

><p>"Broton to Commander. My ruse has been discovered; I request teleportation back to the ship. Broton out," said Broton via telepathy. He kept running up the stairs until he came to the highest point in the house: the attic. He was trapped.<p>

* * *

><p>Professor Smith entered the attic cautiously and saw Ron standing a few metres from him.<p>

"It's ok, I just want to know what you are!" he said, taking out his sonic screwdriver again and pointing it at Ron. He pressed a button, and Ron began to shimmer...

"EEEEEEK!" screamed Mrs Weasley as she reached the attic with the rest of the house's occupants.

"What on earth is that?" added Kingsley.

Ron had been replaced with a brown-orange coloured creature with suckers on the sides of its arms, legs and on the top of its dome-shaped head.

"It's a Zygon," stated Professor Smith. "It hails from the planet Zygor, which was destroyed several thousand years ago in an interplanetary war. But what are you doing here?"

"I am a crew member of scout ship 19. We crashed in a lake, but the power drives were damaged. We used a radiation source to repair the computer and alert the mother ship, which will soon arrive with an Invasion Force. The time of the Zygons has arrived!" said Broton, before he was enveloped in a haze of blue light and disappeared.

"Where did he go?" asked Lupin, looking wildly in every direction.

"Ziggy the Zygon just teleported back to his scout ship," said Professor Smith, walking in circles, trying desperately to think of another plan.

"Ziggy the Zygon? Was that its name?" asked Harry.

"What? Oh, no, that was a little joke of mine. Ha, jokes, I don't make jokes often, and I'm rambling again because I don't know what to do!" said Professor Smith angrily, before suddenly brightening. "Ooh! The TARDIS is still locked on to Ziggy's biological signature, which means that I can still track him! There's no time to lose!" he cried, before he turned and attempted to dash madly down the stairs, but found Mad-Eye blocking his way.

"What are you doing?" he shouted, trying to squeeze past Mad-Eye's solid frame. "I need to get back to the TARDIS now!"

"You're not going anywhere, sonny!" Mad-Eye snarled before hitting him with a stunning spell.

Professor Smith collapsed silently with a very annoyed expression on his face.

* * *

><p>Broton materialised in the scout ship with a smile on his face. "We have been discovered by the one called the Doctor," he told the Commander.<p>

"That is irrelevant," replied the Commander. "Our main objective now is to undermine the establishment close by. Give the Skarasen a free reign. Let it abduct as many of these Earth Creatures as it possibly can!"


	14. Rescue Attempt

**Chapter 13 – Rescue Attempt**

"Ok, I think I was hit by a concentrated jet of radiation," groaned the Doctor after regaining consciousness. He looked around and saw Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Fred and George looking curiously at him.

The Doctor stood and dusted himself off before speaking. "Which one of you stunned me?" he asked crossly. "I need to trace that Zygon down immediately!"

"Mad-Eye stunned you, but Mum told us to keep an eye on you while they alerted Dumbledore," replied Ginny.

"Then why haven't they done that? I must've been out for ages."

"That's just the thing, Professor!" Hermione blurted out. "They only just went down the stairs! You've only been unconscious for about two minutes!"

"So? Look, I'm really sorry, but I need to go _now_!" said the Doctor, making for the attic stairs, but again found someone blocking his way.

"I'm sorry, Professor, but you're not allowed to leave," said George apologetically.

The Doctor groaned in frustration. "Why does everyone always underestimate the situation? The Zygon mentioned an Invasion Fleet! Doesn't that scare anyone?"

Harry shook his head. "It would be better if we actually knew what these 'zygons' were. You haven't really explained that well."

"They're aliens. Simple as that"

Fred snorted. "Aliens. Yeah, sure."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "I'm wasting too much time, I need to go!"

Hermione bit her lip. "Ok, Professor. We'll let you go if you tell us how you managed to recover from a stunner in just over two minutes. Usually, a person needs to be revived by the counter-spell before they're conscious again."

The Doctor thought for a moment, never once considering that Hermione may not keep her word.

"Hmm," he said, pacing up and down the room. "I suppose that, as a spell is just a dose of radiation that my body just channelled the radiation out via my feet, but it still knocked me unconscious. Actually, now that I mention it, my feet are feeling quite tight in my shoes."

He bent down and started untying his shoelaces, whilst the children exchanged incredulous looks.

"Here we!" exclaimed the Doctor, taking off his shoes. "Now, watch out!" he said as he took off his socks.

Red light immediately sprung from his feet and proceeded to bounce of the attic walls until it dissipated.

"Cool!" said Fred and George, grinning at each other. Hermione was less amused.

"What was that?" she asked, frowning.

"That was just the left over radiation of the stunning spell. Now, can I please leave?"

Hermione shook her head. "Sorry Professor, but that's not my decision to make. Anyway, I want to know what you were saying about 'tardis' and 'interplanetary war'."

The Doctor groaned in despair. "Did I say all of that?" he asked. "Stupid Doctor!" he added under his breath, before he suddenly brightened and took out his sonic screwdriver.

Ginny laughed. "Your wand! You're gonna take on all of us?" she asked.

The Doctor tried (unsuccessfully) not to look smug. "No, it's just that I always have a backup plan!" He pressed the button and the sonic screwdriver lit up and started whirring.

Immediately, a wheezing, groaning sound was heard, and a shape started to materialise over the Doctor. Before anyone could react, a blue box was occupying the space where the Doctor had been. Needless to say, everyone was astonished.

"What on Earth just happened?" asked Harry, staring at the box as if...well, as if had just materialised around his science Professor. The Doctor's voice echoed around the room, coming from his blue box

"Sorry guys, but this needed to be done. You have my word that Ron'll be here in no time. This is Professor Smith, signing out. Geronimo!"

And with another sequence of wheezing and groaning, the blue box slowly faded from sight, leaving no trace of its existence apart from the lingering memories of the stunned occupants of the attic in Number 12, Grimmauld Place.

"Well," said Hermione. "Now we know what his blue box does!"

* * *

><p>Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor was frantically running around the controls.<p>

"Come on, come on!" he yelled in frustration, pressing several buttons furiously. There was a beep and the engines changed pitch.

"Finally!" the Doctor exclaimed, pulling several levers before pushing the handbrake into its 'on' position. With a _thud_, the TARDIS landed.

"Alert, unidentified landing onboard ship!" echoed the computer's alarm throughout the Zygon spaceship. A group of Zygons ran past an alcove, too busy to notice the figure hiding in the shadows. Once they were gone, the figure slipped off down the corridor.

"Commander, we have surrounded the intruder's vessel," reported Broton.

"Excellent. Now, scan it for life forms. If the vessel is the Doctor's, I want to know that he is in there. From what our records say, he is not an individual we want loose in our ship!" said the Commander.

The Doctor looked around a corner, scouting for any Zygons. Luckily, there were none, and he moved forward. There was a doorway ahead, and he popped his head into the room behind it and immediately saw the prone figure of Ron Weasley in some kind of booth. The Doctor quickly darted inside and shut off the anaesthetic keeping Ron asleep. By the time Ron had recovered consciousness, the Doctor had him out of his bonds and was pulling him up.

"Professor!" said Ron, startled. "What are you doing here? How did I get here? And where are we?"

"Sorry, Ron, no time to explain; we just need to get out of here as fast as we can. Come on!" said the Doctor urgently, pulling the dazed Gryffindor towards the doorway. They ran through the ship, but it soon became evident that they were lost.

"Do you actually know where we are going, Professor?" asked Ron, still slightly confused.

"Yes," answered the Doctor, running into a dead end. "No," he admitted and turned around before quickly recoiling. Ron gasped. There was a Zygon blocking the corridor, and it didn't look happy.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note: The Doctor previously expelled radiation through his feet in 'Smith and Jones'.<strong>


	15. Free at Last

**Chapter 14 – Free at Last**

"What is that, Professor?" Ron whispered to the Doctor as the Zygon advanced slowly.

"It's a Zygon," answered the Doctor, as he tried desperately to think of an escape route.

"Ok," said Ron slowly, reaching for his wand. It wasn't there. "Where's my wand?" he cried in horror, as his fingers searched his empty pocket.

"Err, I think you'll be needing a new one...let's just say that your old one was used by old Ziggy."

"Who?"

"A Zygon! And unless you can think of a marvellous escape plan in the next ten seconds, then I suggest you prepare to be sedated!" shouted the Doctor as he and Ron backed up against the wall. Suddenly, Ron rushed up to the advancing Zygon and punched it the head area, making it collapse in a heap at their feet.

The Doctor released the breath that he didn't know he'd been holding. "Whew, that was close!"

"Yeah," said Ron shakily.

"Come on!" said the Doctor impatiently, running down the corridor away from Ron. "The sooner we get out of here, the better."

"That's what you said last time!" shouted Ron as he caught up with his science professor.

"Shut up! This time I'll be extremely smart and track down the TARDIS by using this," the Doctor said, taking his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and fiddling with its controls. Ron wasn't amused.

"You're going to track down the whatever-you-said using your _wand_?"

Sparks burst from the sonic screwdriver.

"No, no, no, no!" shouted the Doctor, tapping the screwdriver against his hand in frustration. Seeing Ron's questioning look, he elaborated. "The radiation infusion has fused its psychic interface, rendering it useless."

"Right," said Ron, not understanding at all.

* * *

><p>'<em>These corridors all look the same,<em>' thought Ron half an hour later as he and the Doctor continued to wander the seemingly endless corridors, dodging the occasional zygon.

"Are we ever going to get out of here, Professor?" asked Ron, depressed.

"Shh," replied the Doctor and backed up against the corridor wall, indicating for Ron to do the same.

"What is it?" Ron whispered.

"Our way out is in that room," said the Doctor, poking his head around the corner to get a better look. "But it's surrounded by zygons."

"Can't we force our way through them?"

"Well, yes, but it's going to be dangerous."

"So? I've faced dangerous before."

"Yeah, but we're boys, and what do we say when it's dangerous?"

Ron shrugged. "I dunno, what?"

The Doctor grinned. "Mummy!"

Ron rolled his eyes. "So, are we going to go for it or not?"

"Yep," replied the Doctor, readying himself. "Geronimo," he said, and hurtled out into the open, with Ron following close behind.

* * *

><p>... And with another sequence of wheezing and groaning, the blue box slowly faded from sight, leaving no trace of its existence apart from the lingering memories of the stunned occupants of the attic in Number 12, Grimmauld Place.<p>

"Well," said Hermione. "Now we know what his blue box does!"

"You're telling me!" agreed Harry, before he noticed something on the ground. "What's that?" he asked, pointing at the objects.

"It's Professor Smith's shoes," said Ginny, picking the boots up and inspecting it. "Hmm, size ten."

"What are we going to do when the adults get back up here?" wondered Fred, looking anxiously at the attic stairs.

"Tell them that he overpowered us, of course," replied Hermione.

George snorted. "Yeah, sure, like he overpowered 5 teenagers."

"Maybe we won't have to tell them anything," said Harry mysteriously, as a faint wheezing, groaning sound began.

Ginny gasped. "He's coming back? Why?"

"For his shoes, probably," Fred smirked, as the familiar blue box began materialising in the same place it had left only minutes previously.

Hearing footsteps thundering up the stairs, the teenagers turned to see Mrs Weasley, Sirius, Lupin, Tonks, Kingsley and Mad-Eye enter the attic.

"How the hell did the blue box get up here?" asked Mad-Eye.

"Well, you see-" began Harry, before he was interrupted by Ron stepping out of the box.

"RON!" shouted Mrs Weasley, and she ran to hug her son.

"Geddoff, Mum!" said Ron, his voice muffled by his mother's embrace. When Mrs Weasley finally relinquished her grip, Ron looked at the box.

"Bloody hell, that thing's amazing!" he said.

"Amazing, nah, it's only transport," said the Doctor as he stepped from the box, a first-aid kit in his hand. "Now come here, Ron, I hadn't finished patching you up. You came very close to being incinerated; you're covered in laser scorch-marks."

Ron reluctantly allowed the Doctor to dab his wounds with a cream. "Thanks, Professor," he said when the Doctor had finally finished.

"No problem, just remember to keep your head lower next time," replied the Doctor. He turned to the rest of the room's occupants. "See? Told you I'd get Ron back."

"How did you do it?" asked Tonks, eyeing the Doctor with interest.

"Umm, I think I'll let Ron tell you the entire story," said the Doctor nervously, noticing Tonks' look. River had given him that one too many times, and the last thing he needed right now was another flirtatious woman chasing after him.

"Ok, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, George, Ron, I'll see you all at Hogwarts in about 30 seconds – no, make that 2 weeks. Goodbye!" And without another word, the Doctor backed into the TARDIS and quickly shut the door.

"Professor, you left your shoes here!" said Ginny waving said shoes above her head. Her action was in vain, however, as the box slowly dematerialised with its characteristic wheezing groaning sound.

* * *

><p>That evening, after dinner had been eaten, Ron told his tale.<p>

"I was walking along the edge of the lake after Quidditch practise," he said, making sure that he had everyone's attention, "when I heard this growling. I thought that it was a werewolf, so I drew my wand, but a huge shape loomed above me, and I fell back and tried to scramble away."

"Why didn't you?" asked Lupin.

"Well, I don't know what happened, but a blue light thing coming from the shape trapped me. I felt my body vibrating before everything went black. I can only presume that I was kept unconscious until Professor Smith rescued me."

"How did he rescue you, Ron?" asked Tonks.

"I dunno, I just sort of woke up and saw him freeing me. We got lost in these corridors before we made it to Professor Smith's box, and we had to run past these weird creatures – Zygons, I think he called them – to get to but they were firing some sort of weapon at us. Nearly got us, too," he said, indicating his face. "Anyway, we made it to Professor Smith's box, and a few seconds later, we were here in Grimmauld Place. But enough about me, what's happened while I was imprisoned? How long has it been?"

Hermione looked guiltily at everyone before answering. "This is going to be hard, Ron, but you were imprisoned for about a month," she said quickly. "It seems that a ... zygon or whatever shape-shifted into your form. But it won Gryffindor the Quidditch Match!" she said hurriedly, see Ron's ear turning red, indicating that he was battling hard to keep his temper under control.

"That's enough for tonight," said Mrs Weasley decisively, starting to pack up. "You can tell him the rest tomorrow."

"Fine," said Ron, and he got up and left the dining room without another word.

* * *

><p>Broton entered the Flight Deck of the scout ship to find the Commander looking at several monitors.<p>

"Sir, the Doctor has escaped, taking the captured human with him," Broton reported.

The Commander turned to face Broton. "That is of no consequence," he said dismissively. "The Skarasen has captured 10 more humans from the village nearby. Everything is proceeding to plan."

"Is there any news of the Mothership?"

"It has only completed half of its journey, but will arrive as scheduled. When it arrives, nothing can save the humans from the might of the Zygons!"

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note: This will not turn out to be a DoctorTonks fic, despite the hints that Tonks finds the Doctor attractive. The relationship plays no part in the plot (major or minor), and is only present to provide a little more realism. Tonks is young, the Doctor (appears) young, so 2+2=4.  
><strong>


	16. Truth

**Chapter 15 – Truth**

Later that night, the Harry, Ron and Hermione gathered in Harry and Ron's room to hear the 'complete' version of Ron's story.

"I didn't want to tell Mum what I'm about to tell you guys because I was afraid she'd stop us from going to Hogwarts," Ron explained, enjoying all the attention he was receiving.

"What else is there to tell us, though?" asked Harry.

"Well," began Ron. "I know what's inside Professor Smith's blue box!"

That caught Hermione's attention. "What?" she asked eagerly.

"It's nothing much, really," admitted Ron, "I mean, he's just put an Undetectable Extension Charm on it..."

"So it's bigger on the inside than the out? Of course, why didn't I think of that before?" Hermione exclaimed. "I wonder if he's reached the space limit. I know you can only extend the interior dimensions of an object by so much," she mused.

Ron waited until she was finished before continuing. "Anyway, the room inside is really huge, it's all copper plated and has a big raised platform in the middle. There's a sort of console thing on the platform, with all these switches and dials. That's what amazed me, not the amount of space inside."

Harry and Hermione sat there in silence for a few minutes before Harry asked Ron another question.

"How long did it take you and Professor Smith to escape, Ron?" he asked.

Ron thought for a moment before answering. "I'd say about 2 hours max. We got lost in the corridors a couple of times."

Hermione frowned. "But that's impossible!" she cried. "Professor Smith brought you back only a minute after he left to rescue you!"

"That means he travelled back in time!" gasped Harry. "He _has_ got a time turner!"

Hermione shook her head. "Time turners only transport you through time, not space," she said thoughtfully. "Which means that console that Ron saw must somehow enable his box to travel through space."

"Like some sort of artificial apparition?" asked Ron.

"Yes, but it'd have to be powerful to get through Grimmauld Place's enchantments," replied Hermione.

Harry yawned. "We'll just have to ask him when we get back to Hogwarts," he said.

"I suppose so," said Hermione, standing up. "Goodnight," she said, before she went to the door, opened it cautiously and ran quietly upstairs to her bedroom.

"Goodnight, Harry," said Ron, getting into bed.

"'Night, Ron," Harry replied.

* * *

><p>"Our next step must be to capture the Doctor," said the Zygon Commander to Gratan, his Navigational Officer. "And we shall do this by capturing the humans that were with him when Broton was discovered. From what the records say, the Doctor cannot bear to see his friends come to harm."<p>

"Sir," said Gratan. "How will we capture the humans? Surely the one we captured earlier will have warned everyone to keep away from the lake?"

"That is of no consequence," replied the Commander, going over to a control panel and flicking a few switches that turned on a screen. "We will capture the Doctor's friends by impersonating this human."

Gratan looked at the screen, which now displayed the image of a woman with blonde curls and horn-rimmed glasses. "Why this human?" he asked.

"I used our Space/Time Visualiser to see if any creatures would come in contact with the Doctor's friends. Of course, the creature would have to be from somewhere else on this planet, but to my delight, the Visualiser revealed that this creature would meet up with two of the Doctor's friends soon in their respective timelines."

"I take it that we will capture it just before it contacts the Doctor's friends?"

The Commander nodded, "Yes. I have put the Skarasen on alert, so it is ready for the creature's arrival. You, Gratan, must prepare to take on its form and meet up with the Doctor's friends before sedating them and bringing them here. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Commander," answered Gratan, giving the commander a salute before leaving the flight deck.

* * *

><p>Hogwarts resumed two weeks after the Grimmauld Place incident, and one thing that Harry noticed upon his return was the conspicuous lack of students.<p>

"I didn't realise that so many people left Hogwarts for the holidays," he said as he, Ron and Hermione made their way to Gryffindor Tower. "Though if you add Umbridge into the equation, it does kinda make sense."

Ron laughed, but Hermione shook her head. "I don't think that's the case," she said worriedly. She pulled the morning edition of _The Daily Prophet_ out of her bag. "I picked this up on the Knight Bus, and look," she said, pointing to the headline.

**MYSTERY! HOGWARTS STUDENTS AND HOGSMEADE VILLAGERS HAVE DISAPPEARED! MINISTRY IS INVESTIGATING.**

"I'll bet that those zygon things are behind it," said Harry fiercely.

"Yes, I think so too," said Hermione sadly. "At least we can ask Professor Smith after science tomorrow – and we need to give him his shoes back. You did bring them, didn't, Ron?"

"'Course I did," answered Ron. "I owe him one for rescuing me from those zygons. Did you really think I would forget?"

"No," lied Hermione.

"Rubbish," said Ron.

* * *

><p>"Where's Professor Smith?" asked Harry the next day, as the class waited for their teacher to appear. Fortunately, Umbridge wasn't present for her usual inspection, as she had contracted a mysterious illness that many believed Fred and George were responsible for.<p>

"He's never been late for a class before," commented Ron while leaning against the stone wall of the corridor.

"I hope nothing's happened to him," said Hermione anxiously.

"Who cares if something's happened to him?" sneered Malfoy. "If just had enough of standing out in the corridor for 20 min – what's that?" he said sharply, as a faint wheezing, groaning sound echoed throughout the corridor, followed by a faint _thud_.

Harry smiled, recognising the sound. "Professor Smith's here!" he said happily, just as the door to the classroom opened.

"Sorry I'm late, please come in," said Professor Smith. "Where's the rest of the class?" he asked after the class had taken their seats.

"They're all missing," said Parvati sadly. Her best friend, Lavender, was one of those missing people.

"Hmm," said Professor Smith, a dark shadow crossing his face. "Anyway, on to the lesson! Now, by the end of last term we had covered the entire galaxy, hadn't we?"

The class nodded.

"Ok, now we're moving on to the Andromeda Galaxy, the closest spiral galaxy to this one. There are around 1 trillion stars in that galaxy; that's more than double the amount in ours..."

* * *

><p>The lesson about the Andromeda Galaxy was very interesting, and the class thoroughly enjoyed it. However, the trio did not forget their intention to ask the Professor about his blue box, and they approached him after class.<p>

"Oh, good, you've got my shoes!" said Professor Smith, seeing them in Ron's hand.

"Yep, though I don't know how you survived two weeks without them!" replied Ron, handing the shoes over.

"Who said anything about two weeks?" said the Professor evasively as he put the shoes on.

Hermione couldn't fake patience any more. "Professor, how did you get your box to harness the effects of a time turner? And how does the box travel through space? Have you reached the limit on the undetectable extension charm? And what does your wand do? What are the zygons? What are they doing here, and why are they capturing people? Is your name really John Smith?"

"Whoa, slow down, please!" answered Professor Smith, looking hassled.

"Basically, sir, we want the truth," said Harry.

"The whole truth, mind you, not part of it," added Ron pointedly.

Professor Smith sighed. Maybe it was it was time to tell them the truth. After all, they had seen the Zygon, and Ron had travelled in the TARDIS.

"Alright," he said, "I'll tell you everything. First off, my name is the Doctor ("I knew it!" exclaimed Hermione), not 'John Smith'; that name's just an alias I use every now and then."

"Ok," said Harry slowly. "So you're called the Doctor. What about your box?"

"It's not a box; it's a TARDIS, that's Time And Relative Dimension In Space. At the most basic level, it's a machine that can travel anywhere in time and space. Don't ask how," the Doctor said quickly, seeing Hermione's mouth open. "You won't understand, and even I know how some aspects work."

"So, you've got a time machine?" said Ron. "Why not use a time turner?"

"From what I've heard, they can only take you back in time. The TARDIS can take you forwards as well."

"From what I've heard – does that mean you're not a wizard?" asked Hermione.

"Not a wizard!" exclaimed Professor Smith, suddenly his usual self again. "Not a wizard! I would've thought that was obvious!"

"So if you're not a wizard, then what are you? Someone from the future?" said Harry.

"Well, yes and no. Yes, I am from the future – the 47th Century, in fact – but no, I'm not 'someone'."

"You're an alien!" gasped Hermione, shocked. "But you look just like us!"

"No, you look like me; my species came first. To clarify, I'm a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, in the constellation of Kasterborous."

The trio just sat in classroom six in stunned silence. These revelations about their science Professor were almost too much to handle; the heads were spinning rather wildly. Professor Smith noticed their confused state and took pity on them.

"That's enough for today; anymore and your heads will explode!"

"But, but, it's just so intriguing!" said Hermione. "There's so much we could learn from you, all the advances in technology we could make!"

Professor Smith's face hardened. "No. I'm only here to stop the zygons, not to help human technological advancement."

"The zygons, why are they here?" asked Harry.

Professor Smith shook his head. "I don't know. If I did, then I'd be sorting it out right now. Anyway, I've probably just given you all a migraine, so you'd better leave and enjoy your afternoon. Oh, and don't tell anyone, I don't want mass hysteria while I'm trying to investigate an alien invasion covertly."

"Don't worry, we won't tell, who'd believe us anyway?" asked Ron, before he, Harry and Hermione said goodbye and left the room, leaving the Professor Smith to wonder if he had made the right decision.

'_Yes, I did,_' he decided, before sitting down at his desk and beginning to plan his next lesson.

* * *

><p>"Oh, Harry, I forgot, I've organised a meeting with Rita Skeeter on the next Hogsmeade weekend. She's agreed to interview you about what happened in the graveyard that night," said Hermione during dinner that night.<p>

Ron choked on his lamb chops. "Rita _Skeeter_? The one who kept publishing lies about you and Harry last year?" he spluttered.

"Yes, but she's agreed to hold the interview. Of course, I did threaten to reveal her identity as an unregistered animagus if she didn't consent."

"You're mad," stated Ron, shaking his head. "What about you Harry, are you going to do it?"

Harry thought for a moment before answering. "Yeah. I suppose I do need to get the truth out there," he said finally.

"Excellent!" said Hermione. "I'll let her know."

Harry returned to his meal, slightly depressed. The thought of an interview with Rita Skeeter, the curly haired reporter with the horn-rimmed glasses, did not appeal to him one bit.


	17. Complications

**Chapter 16 - Complications**

Rita Skeeter apparated close to the lake, about a mile from Hogsmeade. She sighed, knowing that she was being blackmailed into a meeting with Hermione 'Miss Perfect' Granger and Harry Potter. Deciding to use her animagus form to sneak into the village undetected, she quickly transformed and started flying. However, her beetle form hadn't gone more than a few meters before a huge head reared out of the lake. Startled, the bug Rita turned to fly in the opposite direction, but was enclosed in a blue light. Everything went black.

* * *

><p>"Where is she, Hermione?" asked Harry impatiently as he, Luna and Hermione sat in the Three Broomsticks for Rita Skeeter to arrive.<p>

"I don't know!" answered Hermione crossly. "She promised that she'd come. I suppose she could have been held up somehow, but I doubt it. I'm really sorry, Harry, but I don't think you'll get your chance to tell the world what happened that night."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," said Luna dreamily, pointing at the door.

Harry and Hermione turned to see Rita Skeeter walk up to them.

"Right, what do you want?" she snapped.

"Well, firstly, you can start by sitting down," said Hermione, ignoring Rita's rudeness.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Harry whispered to Hermione as Rita sat down.

"No, but please bear with me, ok?" Hermione whispered back, before turning to Rita. "So, are you prepared to do it?"

Rita snorted. "It's not like I have much choice, is it?" she said coldly. "But I suppose I'll do it." She turned to Harry, taking out her quick-quotes quill.

Harry recoiled. "No! I refuse to be interviewed with _that_ again!"

"Put it away Rita," said Hermione warningly. Rita sighed and put it away, before pulling out a normal quill.

"Do you really think the _Prophet _will publish this interview, Miss Perfect?" she asked, removing a notebook from her bag.

"Of course not," said Hermione cheerfully. "That's why Luna's here. Her dad runs _The Quibbler_; that's who'll publish it."

"WHAT?" exploded Rita, drawing several angry looks from other customers. "I will not write for that _rubbish_!" she said fiercly.

"Fine," said Hermione calmly. "I might just be writing to the Ministry tomorrow."

Rita sighed. "Ok," she said. "Now, Harry, what _really_ happened that night in the grave yard?"

"What do you think?" asked Harry sarcastically. Rita rolled her eyes and looked at Hermione.

"How can I expect to conduct an interview with a person who refuses to answer my questions?" she asked.

"Well, you could always use your psychic ability to probe his mind, but then again, you might inadvertently damage his brain so much that you won't get the information you need," said the Doctor's voice.

Everyone turned to see the Doctor standing next to the table, beaming around at them.

"Excuse me?" said Rita, turning to the Doctor. "Psychic ability? Who do you think you are?"

"That's not important. The point is, who are _you_?" countered the Doctor, taking his sonic screwdriver out of his jacket pocket and pointing it at Rita.

"Doctor, what are you doing?" whispered Harry.

"Nothing, just preparing to disable the replication field!" replied the Doctor. By this time, the other patrons of the Three Broomsticks had noticed the commotion and were looking on with interest.

"But she's a real person!" cried Hermione desperately.

"What?" asked the Doctor, hesitating for a second. This was the opportunity 'Rita' needed, and she ran towards the door.

"No, stop her!" shouted the Doctor urgently. Several onlookers moved to block her, but she pushed them aside with ease. Hermione, thinking quickly, sent a spell that closed and locked the door, stopping 'Rita' from escaping. 'Rita' pulled on the door handle several times before turning to see the Doctor again pointing his sonic screwdriver at her.

"Now, Ziggy point 2, let's see what's behind the replication field," said the Doctor, pressing the button on the sonic screwdriver. As soon as the bulb lit up and the whirring sound began, 'Rita' began to shimmer until...

"Oh my god!" screamed an onlooker.

"What the hell is that?" yelled another.

"That is a Zygon," replied the Doctor going up to the zygon. "I don't know what you're planning, but believe me, it's going to stop. This is your last chance."

"You are too late, Doctor," hissed the Zygon. "The Invasion Fleet is nearly here. We will do everything to turn this world into Zygor 2!"

And with that, a blue light enveloped the zygon, and it slowly disappeared.

"Was that an alien?" asked Luna dreamily.

Despite the high tension, Harry and the Doctor laughed.

"Yep," said Harry. "I always thought Rita Skeeter seemed a little weird. Now I know why!"

Hermione wasn't impressed. "Umbridge'll be really mad when she hears what happened here," she said as she, Harry, Luna and the Doctor left the pub and walked back to the school, leaving the other customers to clean up.

"Why should she?" asked Harry. "What would she care about a commotion in The Three Broomsticks?"

They continued arguing all the way back to Hogwarts. The Doctor, meanwhile, was more focussed on hypothesising what the Zygons' plan involved.

'_Invasion? Probably, but zygons always have a trick up their sleeve...if they had sleeves!_' he mused silently.

* * *

><p>'All teachers are to report to the Staff Common room immediately after dinner,' echoed the High Inquisitor's voice throughout Hogwarts the next day.<p>

"Great," groaned Harry, who was working on his Potions essay with Ron and Hermione. "I bet it's about what happened yesterday."

"Yep," said Hermione grimly. "No doubt we'll be called to the Common Room in a minute."

* * *

><p>All the teachers were already in the Common Room when the Doctor arrived at the Common Room huffing and puffing. He'd been delayed by a seventh year student who couldn't understand quantum mechanics.<p>

"You're late, Mr Smith," said a man in a bowler hat whom he didn't recognise.

"Sorry," he replied. "Eloise Midgen wanted to know how a photon could be in two places at once. You see, light is a very curious thing, it acts like a wave... and I'm rambling again, aren't I?"

The other occupants of the room were looking bemusedly at him. Dumbledore coughed.

"John, this is Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic. Cornelius, this is John Smith, our science teacher," Dumbledore said, indicating to the man wearing the bowler hat.

"Pleased to meet you!" said the Doctor, walking over and giving Fudge his signature air-kiss.

"Oh, well, um, moving on," said Fudge, flustered. "Dolores, you mentioned something about Hogsmeade?"

"Yes, Minister. It has been brought to my attention that there was an, err, disturbance, in the Three Broomsticks yesterday afternoon," said Umbridge, reading off a notebook.

"What has that got to do with us?" asked Professor McGonagall sharply.

"I was getting to that, Minerva," replied Umbridge reprovingly. "The disturbance involved three Hogwarts students, Rita Skeeter...and you, John."

Everyone looked at the Doctor questioningly.

"Well, John, is this claim true?" he asked.

The Doctor sighed. He couldn't see a way out of the situation without completely blowing his cover, so he decided to tell the truth (or at least some of it).

"Yes, it is true," he admitted.

* * *

><p>"Commander, the Doctor has ordered us to halt our plans immediately. What will be our next course of action?" asked Gratan.<p>

"We ignore that insignificant Time Lord," replied the Commander. He lead Gratan over to a control panel.

"This is the recently developed Time Reverser. It was reverse-engineered from Time Lord technology that fell through the Time-Lock of the Time War. We will use it to reverse the Doctor's personal timeline to the point where he is no longer a threat to our operations. It is a good plan, is it not, Gratan?"

"It is a very good plan, Commander. It will be fitting to see the Time Lord's own technology used against him!"

"It will indeed!" hissed the Commander, and he turned a dial.

* * *

><p>"...so I tried to apprehend the Death Eater, but he got away," finished the Doctor, who had been telling a mostly-fabricated story about Death Eaters impersonating Rita Skeeter.<p>

"You do realise, John," snarled Fudge, "that You-Know-Who hasn't returned?"

Dumbledore rolled his eyes. "I will not let you question my staff members on whether or not they believe Voldemort has returned, Cornelius." he said.

Everyone flinched.

"That may be the case, Dumbledore, but what about the missing and students? What do you have to say about that?" countered Fudge recently.

Dumbledore bowed his head. "Evidently Dolores has told you that several students went missing over the school holidays. I have no idea where they are, or who captured them, but that does not stop me from personally searching for them."

The Doctor was about to say that he thought he knew where the students were, but was interrupted by a stab of pain in his head.

"Ouch," he said, clutching his forehead.

"Anything wrong?" asked Snape smoothly.

"No, I'm fine," answered the Doctor, "I'm completely – OUCH!"

Everyone stared as the Doctor doubled up in pain, clutching his head.

"What the devil's wrong with him?" asked Fudge.

"Severus, do you have any idea?" said Dumbledore.

"Not at all, Headmaster. He could be faking..."

"Does it look like he's faking to you?" asked McGonagall as the Doctor let out another yell.

"OW!" he shouted, making everyone jump. "Intense pain, intense pain. Regeneration? No, I haven't fatally injured myself. Think, think, think, think!" he muttered under his breath.

"Poppy, take John to the hospital wing immediately!" ordered Dumbledore.

"Certainly, Dumbledore," replied Madam Pomfrey, and she made to levitate the Doctor, but he gave yet another yell.

"No, no, no, no, no!" he screamed. "Time reversal; my timeline's being reversed! I hate repeats!" he moaned.

"What on earth's he going on about?" Fudge whispered to Umbridge.

"I don't know, Minister, but I've always been under the impression that he was a bit of a lunatic," answered Umbridge.

Everyone looked at the Doctor as the air surrounding him appeared to shimmer. The Doctor's features also seemed to be changing, turning him into...

"My god, that's Crouch!" shouted Fudge, pointing at the Doctor. Except he wasn't the Doctor. Where the Doctor had previously had been stood an older, more mature man, who looked exactly like Barty Crouch Junior.

* * *

><p>Sparks issued from the Time Reverser, making the Commander and Gratan retreat to safety.<p>

"The machine's internal tissues seem to have decayed enough to render the machine useless," noted Gratan.

"That is of no consequence," said the Commander. "The machine affected the Doctor for long enough to reverse him to his previous incarnation. While our plan may not have worked as much as I'd liked, he was never capable of defeating us single-handedly. With his old appearance, no one will be able to recognise him, and as such, he will not be able to organise a resistance against us!"

* * *

><p>"Bind him!" ordered Fudge. Snape and Umbridge acted quickly, and the Doctor's arms and legs were soon bound, rendering him immobile.<p>

"What are you doing?" said the Doctor, struggling to free himself. "I'm John Smith, not this 'Barty' person!"

"You are not 'John Smith'," replied Dumbledore coolly. "You are one of Voldemort's most trusted servants, and you have infiltrated my school to abduct students. You will be escorted to Azkaban and will await trial."

"No!" shouted the Doctor desperately as he was levitated out the door by Snape, with McGonagall and the other teachers close behind. "You can't. Listen to me!"

The door closed, and Dumbledore sighed in relief.

"You think this is over do you, Albus?" asked Fudge triumphantly. "The fact that a highly dangerous madman managed to get himself a position in this school and actually succeeded in abducting students shows that you are incapable of running this school. I hereby relieve you of your duties, place you under arrest for lack of care, and appoint Dolores Umbridge as the new Headmistress!"

"Ah, I was afraid this was going to happen," said Dumbledore calmly. "But I ask the question: how do you intend to arrest me?"

Fudge snapped. "Dolores, stun him!"

Events moved faster than any of them could have imagined. Fawkes appeared above Dumbledore in a fiery flash, temporarily dazing Umbridge and Fudge. Dumbledore took advantage of this and immediately reached up, latched onto Fawkes' leg, and disappeared along with the phoenix.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note: Finally, new chapter! Thank you all for being so patient, and hopefully the updates will become more frequent from now on.<strong>


	18. Invasion

**Chapter 17 - Invasion**

"I'm not this Barty Crouch person!" shouted the Doctor as he was levitated to the dungeons by Snape. The other teachers left them and went back to their duties.

"Shut up, you," snarled Snape, and he set the Doctor down. "How did you survive the Dementor's Kiss? Tell me!"

"Dementor's Kiss? Look, you've made a mistake, I'm John Smith."

"No, you're not," came Fudge's voice from the door. He walked into the room, Umbridge close behind. "I want you to tell me the whole story. Now. If you don't, I may ask Dolores to employ certain...skills she possesses."

The Doctor shuddered. No doubt they intended to torture him. "There's nothing to tell. Why is it that nobody listens to me? Is it my face? I always though it was a bit too good looking"

Fudge sighed. "Dolores-"

"Minister, it may be more...prudent if we used a truth potion to interrogate him before resorting to torture," interrupted Snape smoothly, stepping forward and taking a small vial from his cloak.

"Truth potion?" repeated the Doctor faintly, standing up. A small rattle reminded him that he had one last option – his sonic screwdriver. Trying to be discrete as possible, he slowly removed his screwdriver, only half listening to the conversation between Fudge and Snape.

"Yes, yes, that's fine," said Fudge, agreeing with Snape.

"Minister, he's trying to escape," cried Umbridge, who had picked out the slow movement of the Doctor's arms removing his sonic screwdriver from his jacket. Snape darted forward and snatched the screwdriver from the Doctor's hand.

"What is this?" Snape demanded, shoving the Doctor to the floor, winding him.

"My wand," gasped the Doctor, clutching his chest.

"I'm sure," said Snape, lip curling. "Fortunately, there is an easy way to find out. Lumos!"

The sonic screwdriver lit up briefly, before sparking and going out. Fudge and Umbridge were shocked.

"But that sparked!" said Fudge. "That must mean it's ektronic!"

"That settles it!" cried Umbridge in glee. "Severus, the potion."

Snape stepped forward and grabbed the protesting Doctor, hauling him to his feet, and emptied the entire contents of the vial down his throat before releasing him. The Doctor shuddered for a minute then went still.

"What is this device?" asked Snape, holding up the screwdriver.

"A sonic screwdriver," replied the Doctor in a monotone.

"What does it do?"

"Anything I want it to."

"Really?" asked Fudge, intrigued. "And exactly how does it work?"

"Do you really expect me to answer your questions all day?"

Snape, Umbridge and Fudge stepped back in shock as the Doctor slowly stood, smoothing out his spiky brown hair.

"Right, I really must go, there's an invasion I need to stop and..."

"For heaven's sake!" shouted Fudge, losing his temper. "Dolores, stun him and escort him to the Ministry. Tell them that he will be serving out a life sentence there."

"At once, Minister," replied Umbridge as she stunned the Doctor. She then grabbed a candle from the wall, pointed her wand at it and said '_Portus_'. The candle briefly glowed blue before Umbridge grabbed hold of it. She and the Doctor immediately disappeared.

'_Talk about perversion of justice_' thought Snape as he observed events. "Will that be all, Minister?" he said once Umbridge had portkeyed to the Ministry.

"Yes, yes, that will be all, Severus. Thank you for your support today.

"My pleasure, Minister," replied Snape, and he left the room.

* * *

><p>Harry, Ron and Hermione were glad that they weren't called to the Staff Common Room after all, but their relief soon dissipated when they walked into the Great Hall the next day.<p>

"What's Umbridge doing at Dumbledore's seat?" asked Harry, whose stomach slowly started to sink into his toes.

"I think we'll find out soon enought," answered Hermione grimly.

Once all students were present, Umbridge stood, giving her silly little cough.

"Hem, hem. Now, as you may have noticed, Professor Smith is not here today. This is because, during a staff meeting last night, 'Professor Smith' was revealed to be an escaped convict in disguise."

Stunned silence.

"He was convicted last night of abducting students from this school, and in all likelihood, killing them. I know that many of you may not believe this story, but trust me; the Ministry and I would never lie to you in a situation this serious. We believe that you are all old enough to deal with the truth, no matter how hard it is to accept it. He has been taken to Azkaban and will serve out a life sentence there."

"NO!" shouted Harry loudly. "That isn't true, you're making it up!"

Ron and Hermione groaned.

"Detention, Mr Potter!" said Umbridge triumphantly as the Slytherins laughed their heads off.

"Where's Dumbledore?" asked Harry desperately, looking around. "He'd put a stop to this."

"I was getting to that, Mr Potter," answered Umbridge, and she spoke to the rest of the Hall. "Dumbledore was relieved of office after it was found that he was incapable of guaranteeing the safety of students. I am his replacement."

As the Hall erupted into a series of protests against this decision, all Harry could do was sit and think. '_Now we're in trouble,_' he thought.

* * *

><p>"No, no, no, no," moaned the Doctor. He was lying in his cell in Azkaban, dreaming about the horrors of his life. "No, Adric, don't stay, come with us, the Freighter's meant to crash. No, Adric, NO!" he screamed, waking himself up. Breathing heavily, he looked around, only to see the damp and dark conditions of his cell, and the occasional dementor gliding past his cell door.<p>

"Great," he said. "Now, I'm going to be stuck here until the end of my thirteenth life."

"What makes you say that?" asked an all too familiar from the back of his cell.

"What are you doing here?" asked the Doctor, incredulous. There is no way this could have happened – the odds must be astronomical. Another Doctor stepped out of the shadows, grinning.

"Freeing you," replied the other Doctor, tapping a Vortex Manipulator on his wrist. "I've already experienced this event, so, knowing that a future version of myself came back to rescue me, I came back to rescue you."

"Ok," said the Doctor slowly. "So I get the Manipulator, and you sit it out in this cell until your TARDIS arrives and picks you up?"

"Got it in one," said the other Doctor, tearing the Manipulator off his wrist and giving it to his younger self.

"Hmm, this wouldn't happen to be River's, would it?" asked the Doctor suspiciously.

"Spoilers," said the other Doctor. "But let's just say she had no use for it after the Singing Towers."

"Oh," said the Doctor sadly, remembering River's eventual fate. The other Doctor just nodded, before recovering his usual persona.

"Right, you need to get back to Hogwarts before those zygons get there," he said, typing in the co-ordinates.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked the Doctor. "The teachers don't exactly like my previous, well, current incarnation as much as I do, er, did."

"Trust me," replied the other Doctor. "By the way, I've just finished my visit to Panem, so now you know when to come back here."

"Panem?" asked the Doctor, shuddering. "I don't look forward to that visit."

The other Doctor grimaced. "Neither did I. Anyway, until next time."

The Doctor saluted his future self. "So long, Doctor," he said as he pressed the button that transported him back to Hogwarts. The other Doctor settled down in his cell. It was going to be a long wait.

* * *

><p>Two weeks later, conditions had drastically worsened in Hogwarts. Umbridge had now gained almost total control, and the only thing stopping her from going further was the laws set down by her beloved Ministry. Gryffindor House had suffered the worst, with all privileges removed, all organisations disbanded. Umbridge had even forced them to share ALL their classes AND a common room with the Slytherins. In other words, it was pure torture.<p>

"I wish we could go home," moaned Ron as the school lined up by the Lake for their daily inspection.

"Shut it!" whispered Hermione. "You know that we can't go home until we've finished seventh year."

Ron rolled his eyes. One of Umbridges more extreme restrictions was the removal of holidays from the Gryffindor's itinerary. Though many angry parents had protested, the Ministry refused to do nothing about the situation.

"Having fun, Potty, Weasel, Mudblood?" asked Malfoy as he walked up to them. "Oh, look, Potty, you're hair is not combed. Weasel, you've got dirt on your face. Mudblood, you haven't washed that filthy stain off your skin. All up, I think that's 2500 points from Gryffindor, plus 50 lashes each."

Ron muttered several expletives at Malfoy, who just grinned.

"I think I'll make that a _public_ whipping," he said with obvious glee. Ron was dragged to the front of the group, with the whole school watching.

"This is what happens to Gryffindors," said Malfoy. "They are the –"

But what Gryffindors were no one knew. For at that moment, a great pulse of compressed air threw everyone to the ground.

"What was that?" shouted Malfoy, who had fallen on top of Ron. He quickly clambered off him and wiped his robes. "Yuck, blood traitor germs."

Suddenly a weird sound began, and the grass to the left of the students was flattened. The students exchanged looks of confusion before the ship that had just landed turned off its camouflage circuits.

Surprisingly, no one panicked. Instead, Malfoy and several other members of the Inquisitorial Squad approached the craft.

"What the hell is that?" asked Goyle.

"How should I know, idiot?" retorted Malfoy as a door in the craft opened with a pneumatic _hiss_.

The Inquisitorial Squad retreated hurriedly as a figure stepped out and approached them. Crabbe shoved Malfoy forward.

"Talk to it," he whispered. Malfoy gulped and nodded.

"Hel, hello?" he said tentatively.

"You are not a zygon," said the creature, stepping out of the shadows. Malfoy's eyes went wild and he tried to run, but his feet seemed rooted in place.

"You are a human," continued the creature. "All humans must be obliterated."

And without another word, the zygon raised a weapon and shot Malfoy at point black range. Malfoy sank to the ground, staring at his arm as his skin cracked and dryed.

"What have you done?" he managed to gasp through his parched throat, before his body fell apart, leaving only a few bone fragments on the ground where he once stood.

Silence. Then the panic began. Students and teachers ran everywhere, trying to get back to the castle. More zygons emerged from the ship and fired into the crowd. Students fell clutching their stomachs as they dehydrated and disintergrated. Harry grabbed Hermione and ran toward the forest.

"Where's Ron?" sobbed Hermione.

"I don't know, I don't know," Harry replied through gritted teeth. Only one thing was certain: the Invasion Fleet had arrived.


	19. The Third Side Arrives

**Chapter 18 – The Third Side Arrives**

Several hours later, Harry and Hermione were still sheltering in the forest, shivering from the cold. They could hear the awful screams and shouts coming from the castle, and could only begin to imagine what was happening up there.

"How long do you reckon we've been here?" asked Harry, leaning up against a tree, slowly tearing leaves to pieces.

"Three hours, probably more," answered Hermione. Unlike Harry, she couldn't relax and had beeen walking in circles for most of the three hours. "Those zygons are the foulest creatures on earth."

"Except they're not from Earth, are they?" commented Harry. Hermione shot him a death glare before continuing.

"Malfoy's dead, that's obvious. I thought I saw Ernie go down too, but Lavender's body blocked my view..."

Harry threw the remains of a leaf away. "Why are you counting how many people died? Is it so important?" he asked furiously, standing up.

"Yes, yes it is!" Hermione sobbed. "I just need to reassure myself that it wasn't Ron, or Ginny, or Fred or George who got killed."

Harry took a breath. "I know. I worry about them too, but there's nothing we can do."

"If only Professor Smith were here. He'd know what to do," replied Hermione.

BANG!

Harry and Hermione whirled around, expecting to see a zygon, but were surprised when they saw a man stretching furiously.

"Ow!" said the man, bending down in an attempt to touch his toes. "Vortex Manipulators: cheap and nasty time travel. That was a lot worse than when I last used it. I wonder why?" he said, strolling up to Harry and thrusting a device into his hand.

"Well now, Mr Potter, what's going on?" the man asked, looking at Harry expectantly. Harry, however, recoiled.

"Get away from me, you murderer!" he shouted, taking out his wand and pointing it at the man. "You're-"

"Barty Crouch, yes , I know," finished the man, rolling his eyes. "I've been through this a million times with Dumbledore, Umbridge and a few other people. To cut a long story short, I'm the Doctor, and my personal timeline has been wound back about a year so I now look like my previous incarnation. Understand?"

"Not really, no," answered Hermione tentatively. "But you're basically saying that you're Professor Smith in a former life? So reincarnation's real?"

"No, reincarnation is not real, but what I'm referring to is something similar. You see-."

"What on earth are you going on about?" interrupted Harry. "You're a death eater, not our science teacher!"

"Death eater? What's that?" asked the man, confused.

"Like you don't know," snarled Harry. "Show me your right arm."

The man presented said arm to Harry. No dark mark.

"Fine," said Harry, "but I'm still not convinced you're Professor Smith."

"That's OK with me," replied the man, shrugging. "You just need to trust me. Now, Hermione, what's happened since I last saw you?"

Hermione took a deep breath before answering. "Well, first of all, Umbridge was made Headmistress–"

"I know all that," interrupted the man. "But have the zygons arrived?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes. The Invasion Fleet landed about three hours ago. The students were all assembled outside for our daily inspection. Then some sort of craft landed, and a zygon came out. It," she faltered, taking a shuddering breath. "It killed Malfoy and started shooting into the crowd. More zygons emerged and joined the first one. Harry and I ran into the forest and have been here ever since. That's what happened."

The man's face darkened. "What do those zygons think they're doing? Invading a level five planet for no purpose goes against Article 768 of the Shadow Proclamation! Where's their ship?" he demanded.

"That way," replied Harry, pointing to his right.

"Right," said the man, moving his hands to adjust a non-existent tie, before looking down at the Azkaban prison clothes he was wearing. "Er, is there a wardrobe anywhere so I can change?" he asked.

Hermione shook her head. "What are you going to do? You can't just go up to their ship. They'll kill you!"

"No they won't," said the man cheerfully, and he set of towards the place where Harry had indicated the zygon ship to be.

"Hey," called Harry, "you forgot your...thing!"

The man turned. "Oh yeah, the Vortex Manipulator. Good thing you remembered! Chuck it here!"

Harry did so, and the man caught it. Waving his hand in thanks, he disappeared into the gloom of the forest.

"Do you really think he's Professor Smith?" Hermione whispered.

"No, he's got a completely different personality. Too...arrogant," Harry whispered back.

"Yes, I thought so too. I just hope he doesn't get himself into trouble. He was still likeable," agreed Hermione before returning to her favourite activity of walking in circles while Harry leant against a tree and tore leaves into pieces.

* * *

><p>"My Lord, we have intercepted an owl that was travelling from Hogwarts to the Ministry," reported the Death Eater, bowing in front of his lord.<p>

"What does it say, Avery?" hissed Voldemort.

"My Lord, it says that Hogwarts is under attack by an unknown force, and they are requesting the Ministry's help to repel the invaders," replied Avery.

"Ahhh," sighed Voldemort. "Send the owl back saying that the Ministry will be there shortly. Then, gather everyone loyal to me. We are going to help Hogwarts in its time of need – then take the school ourselves!"

"At once, my Lord," said Avery, and he scuttled off to obey Voldemort's orders.

"Hogwarts will be in my grasp in a matter of hours, Nagini," Voldemort said softly to the snake slithering at his feet. "Then you will have enough food to last you for months."

* * *

><p>The Doctor approached the zygon ship with caution. Although he was sure he could stop the Invasion, being careful had always helped him in the past. Suddenly, a laser was emitted from the ship and hit the tree next to him, which promptly disintegrated. Cursing himself for being so stupid (at this time of night, the zygons would have been using thermal imaging to scan the surrounding area), he broke out into a run, heading for the castle. Knowing that he'd probably be hit before he got there, he quickly wound the Vortex Manipulator around his wrist, entered the castle's co-ordinates, and pressed the button. He disappeared with a loud BANG.<p>

* * *

><p>The situation in Hogwarts had improved slightly. The teachers had been successful in casting powerful shield charms that kept the zygons away from the doors, but knew that it was only a matter of time until the charms fell.<p>

"If only Albus were here," whispered McGonagall to the other teachers as they all patrolled the corridors late that night.

"Rubbish, Minerva," replied Umbridge. "We are coping as best we can. It is only a matter of time until those creatures withdraw. The Ministry will send an extra hundred Aurors to fight them outside in the grounds as soon as they get my owl.

"But that's suicide!" squeaked Professor Flitwick. "You've seen what their weapons do to us!"

Umbridge glared at him before continuing. "They will also send in two hundred dementors to support the Aurors."

"Why don't we just surrender?" asked Professor Trelawny.

"Why didn't you predict this?" retorted Umbridge angrily. "You're meant to see the future."

Trelawny opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by a loud BANG. Startled, all the teachers looked behind them to see the Doctor, bending down, hands on knees, panting slightly.

"You!" shrieked Umbridge, taking out her wand and pointing at him. "How did you escape from Azkaban?"

"Well, let's just say that I was already free," gasped the Doctor in between breaths. Snape walked up to him.

"How did you escape from Azkaban? Did the Dark Lord help you?" he snarled, pushing the Doctor against the wall. The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"No, I freed myself!"

"How?" asked Professor Sprout.

The Doctor looked around at the teachers, all of whom looked like they expected a full explanation. He sighed.

"My future self, having already experienced the events that I am now experiencing, went back to the prison and freed me. There, happy?"

Umbridge snorted. "That's the most ridiculous nonsense I've ever heard in my entire life. Now, you tell me how you escaped Azkaban or I'll-"

But what Umbridge was going to do, no one ever knew. For at that moment, two students ran into the room.

"Professor Umbridge!" they both said at once, bursting with news.

"You, go first," said Umbridge, pointing at the smaller of the two.

"Professor, the Ministry says that help is on its way!" the messenger said, her face showing that she was clearly relieved.

"Excellent. Now, what's your news?" Umbridge asked the second messenger, who happened to be Neville Longbottom.

"Professor, there are Death Eaters apparating inside the grounds. I don't know how they got in; maybe those creatures made them collapse earlier, but the Death Eaters are here, and they're fighting our side AND the monsters'."

All the adults looked at him in shock.

"Great," moaned the Doctor. "Now there are three sides in this silly war."


	20. Battle

**Chapter 19 - Battle**

"General, more humans are teleporting into the battle field and are attacking both us and the residents of the castle," the Commander reported. He and his crew had left the Scout Ship when the Invasion Fleet had arrived, and were now reporting to the General of the Zygon Space Fleet.

"Deploy more troops in sectors 5 and 6, and order the Skarasen to surface and start picking off the offenders from behind," ordered the General. "We have a deadline to meet here, Commander, and the Council is depending on us to meet it."

"I hear and obey, General," replied the Commander, and he left to carry out his orders.

* * *

><p>On a mountain top overlooking the battle field, Voldemort was now regretting his decision to come to Hogwarts, repel the invaders and take the castle for himself. The invaders were like nothing he had ever seen before, and while his death eaters had managed to kill some of the invaders, there always seemed to be ten more to take the dead creature's place. Even though he would never admit it, the Death Eaters were fighting a losing battle. A faint <em>pop,<em> caused by his second-in-command, Bellatrix, apparating to his side, interrupted his thoughts.

"My Lord, there are too many of them," she panted, out of breath.

"That is no excuse!" replied Voldemort. "However...I have decided that it is time to join the fray myself."

"My Lord, are you sure that's wise? You say what those creature's weapons did to Crabbe," Bellatrix said.

"Crabbe was an expendable fool, Bella; he will not be missed," Voldemort hissed before he apparated down to the battle field. His presence was immediately met with cries of: 'He's here! Our Lord has come to help us!', or 'It's You-Know-Who! Retreat!'

Voldemort wasted no time, sending a killing curse towards a Hogwarts student, who crumpled to the ground as soon as the spell hit him. Seeing a zygon raise its gun at him, he quickly conjured a shield charm that deflected the bolt of energy from the gun back to its source. The zygon sank to the ground as its body disintegrated, victim of its own firepower.

'_This is too easy,_' Voldemort thought with glee as he mercilessly killed another dozen zygons. The students and teachers of Hogwarts were backing up to the castle, with the zygons slowly closing in on them. Voldemort saw the opportunity to finish the fight once and for all. Closing his eyes, he sent a mental message to his death eaters, telling them to charge the creatures from behind. He smiled in satisfaction as his followers charged forward with a mighty cry...

The zygon ship flickered into existence above the battle field, weapons fully charged. Voldemort screamed in fury as the ship's lasers danced across the ground, disintegrating each and every death eater behind the zygon lines.

'_NO!_' thought Voldemort in anger, and he immediately sent twenty four fireballs in the direction of the hovering ship. He watched in anticipation as the fireballs sped towards their target, but roared in fury for the second time that day as they fluttered out of existence as the struck the ships shields. Fuming, he tried to move forward, but found that he was unable to, as he was encased in cylinder of movement-restricting light that emanated from the ship hovering above the grounds. He desperately tried to fight his way out as an alien voice boomed across the battlefield.

"The Zygons have won. All remaining humans are to surrender themselves immediately."

* * *

><p><span>10 minutes earlier...<span>

The teachers were discussing what to do about the new situation, but none of them could come up with any good ideas. The Doctor had, of course, thought of a plan ages ago, but was currently suspended in mid air, floating above the teachers as they attempted to think of a strategy.

"Let's contact Albus, he'll know what to do," said McGonagall nervously.

"No, we will do no such thing," said Umbridge firmly, but she was too late; Snape had already sent a patronus off to find the former Headmaster of Hogwarts.

"Severus, you deliberately disobeyed my order-" Umbridge began, but was interrupted by the Doctor.

"You know, you're not doing anything to help the situation by arguing. Why don't you just call the students back to the school and let the zygons and the death eaters fight it out by themselves?" the Doctor called out impatiently. "Oh, and let me down of course. It's not comfortable up here."

The teachers glanced at each other.

"It's better than nothing," Professor Sprout finally admitted, and she left to tell the students to retreat while Snape performed the counter-jinx on the Doctor, who came crashing to the ground.

"Ow!" he muttered, rubbing his arms. "Now, no doubt the zygons are going to capitalise on the retreat of your forces. You've already cast shield charms haven't you?" the Doctor asked. The teachers nodded.

"Right. I'm going up the astronomy tower to see how things are going up there. Anyone else want to come?"

"I will," volunteered Umbridge. "Someone needs to keep an eye on this lunatic."

The Doctor ignored her comment. "Allonsy!" he said, before shooting off down the corridor.

* * *

><p>Five minutes later he was looking down on the battlefield from the astronomy tower, with Umbridge panting next to him.<p>

"Hmm, the students are retreating alright, and the zygons are doing exactly what I expected, but what are the death eaters doing?" observed the Doctor.

"Seems as if they're trying to attack the zygigs or whatever from behind," gasped Umbridge between breaths.

"That's a good idea, but," said the Doctor, taking out his sonic screwdriver and scanning the air above the castle, "there seems to be a zygon ship floating above the battlefield, ready to strike!"

"Where?" asked Umbridge, looking around wildly. "I don't see anything."

"It's invisible," explained the Doctor, just as the ship dropped its camouflage. He and Umbridge watched in amazement as its weapons wiped out all the death eaters on the field within thirty seconds.

"See why I told you to get the students to retreat? They would've been massacred if they hadn't," the Doctor pointed out. "C'mon, nothing else to see up here."

Umbridge opened her mouth to reply, but an alien voice drowned her words.

"The Zygons have won. All remaining humans are to surrender themselves immediately."

'No!" the Doctor shouted, and he ran back down the stairs. He had to stop the students and teachers from surrendering!

* * *

><p>Dumbledore apparated into the Great Hall with a small <em>pop<em>, and found himself looking at a makeshift hospital. Hundreds of people were lying down, groaning as Madam Pomfrey did her best to treat them. Frowning, Dumbledore made his way over to the Entrance Hall, where the Heads of Houses were talking quietly.

"Oh, Albus, thank God you're here!" exclaimed McGonagall when she saw him approach. "Hogwarts is being attacked by these creatures and the death eaters!"

"We were just about to surrender to these zygon things when you came," squeaked Professor Flitwick.

Dumbledore thought for a moment before speaking. "Would it be prudent if we tried to negotiate with these creatures?" he asked.

"No," said a voice from the left, and he turned to see the Doctor approaching him with Umbridge a short distance behind. Dumbledore turned to McGonagall.

"Why is Barty Crouch not detained?" he asked simply.

"Oh, for crying out loud, I am NOT Barty Crouch!" shouted the Doctor. "Look, Headmaster, you cannot negotiate with zygons like this. They will kill you!"

"You underestimate these opponents, err, John, if that's who you really are. You have not seen these creatures before, so you do not know what they are capable of."

"You are overestimating the zygons, Headmaster. They will not listen to you when fighting a war. Your only hope is to hope your shield charms hold up, then wait for me to come up with an extremely clever plan!" the Doctor countered fiercely.

Dumbledore shook his head. "I will do what I must, John," he said, and walked the short distance to the doors before opening them and stepping outside. The teachers watched with bated breath.

"Fool," muttered the Doctor, then: '_I hope these shields hold, or we'll be sitting ducks with the doors wide open like this_.'

* * *

><p>"General, a human is coming out!" shouted a crewmember, pointing at the main view screen.<p>

"Let him speak, but do not kill him unless I give the order," replied the General.

"Yessir!"

* * *

><p>Dumbledore stared out at the zygon army. '<em>Was this the right idea?<em>' he thought, but there was no turning back now.

"Friends," he began. "There is no need for such loss of life today. Wouldn't it be more sensible to come together and settle our differences peacefully? I know not of where you come from, or why you are here, but it is surely possible that we can work together to build a better world. From what I hear, both sides have committed atrocities today, but I tell you: it needs to stop. Let us both remove our wounded and dead, and agree to a ceasefire of seventy-two hours. Once that ceasefire has finished, I trust that we will have no need to fight, as we will have both united for the Greater Good. What say you?" he finished, looking at the army expectantly.

His answer was excruciating pain in the abdomen, then nothing.

* * *

><p>"What on Zygor just happened?" fumed the General. "I did not order anyone to kill that human! As foolish as he was, he did have a point. I order all forces to retreat, but execute the idiot who shot him!"<p>

* * *

><p>"NO!" screamed McGonagall, as Dumbledore's body disintegrated. Snape and Sprout rushed to restrain the aged Transfiguration teacher, who was attempting to run out the door and take on the entire zygon army.<p>

The Doctor was furious. Although he had warned Dumbledore not to go out there, he could not suppress his outrage, and he marched angrily out the door.

* * *

><p>"Sir, the Doctor's coming out!" said a crew member.<p>

"Very well," sighed the General, "Let him speak."

"What?" asked the Commander, incredulous. "He should be killed after all he has done to thwart our plans!"

"I say we listen!" shouted the General. "I don't like how many soldiers we've lost today. I'd much rather a peaceful alternative, if there is one to be found!"

Muttering darkly, the Commander slipped away.

* * *

><p>The Doctor walked into the middle of the battlefield and glared across at the zygon ship on the far side of the grounds. Taking a deep breath, he began.<p>

"What the hell were you thinking?" he shouted. "That man was defenceless as I am, yet you shot him. You're no better than the daleks! That man – Dumbledore – was trying to offer you a peaceful alternative, but you threw it away. Why? I know Zygor was destroyed many thousands of years ago, and that your species needs a new home planet, but did it ever occur to you that you could co-exist with the humans? Zygons are a water-dwelling species, surely the two-thirds of this planet covered in water is enough to live peacefully! You don't need to commit genocide!" he finished. He looked across at the ship, and was well aware that the second, the one above him, could easily send down a laser to kill him.

Silence. Then...

"This is General Zyrath of the Zygon Space Fleet," boomed a voice. "I did not order the death of that man. I repeat, his death is no fault of mine."

"He's still dead!" retorted the Doctor.

"Yes. That is unfortunate. However, I am willing to negotiate a ceasefire. We were only allocated a maximum of one hundred casualties on our side for the battle today, but we have exceeded that allocation by about one hundred and fifty. If there is a peaceful solution to this conflict, I, and in extension, the entirety of the Zygon Space Fleet, is willing to embrace it. "

The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you," he shouted. "You've no idea how good it is to have people actually _listen_ to me for once. Your decision is much appreciated."

And with that he turned and walked back into the castle.


	21. Conspiracy

**Chapter 20 - Conspiracy**

All was quiet in the Zygon Mothership. Lights blinked and control panels issued beeps every so often as the Commander crept silently down through the room, heading for the General's office. The Commander knew that his mission was extremely dangerous, but kept reminding himself that it had to be done. The General's decision to let the Doctor live was heretical. He had to be removed at all costs. The future of the zygon race depended on it. The office door was close now, and the Commander slowly raised his hand to open it...

BANG!

The door opened, hitting the Commander and sending him sprawling on the floor.

"Sorry, Commander," hissed the General, stepping out of his office. "You really shouldn't try to assassinate me with security bacteria outside my door.

The Commander cursed. His plan had failed.

"What are you going to do with me?" he asked, somewhat apprehensively.

"Nothing much, just strip you of your rank and teleport you down to the collection of 'trees' close to the ship. There are a few lost humans in there; no doubt they'll be 'happy' to see you, particularly now that we've killed several hundred of them."

"You can't do this!" the former Commander replied angrily.

"I can and I will. Goodbye, Zyrag!" said the Commander, watching the seething form of Zyrag dissolve into atoms in a haze of blue light.

* * *

><p>Down in the Forest, the zygon's body took shape in an identical haze of light. Muttering a few zygon expletives Zyrag stood up and surveyed his surroundings before nodding in satisfaction. A human's was rushing through the Forest only a few hundred metres from Zyrag's position. The former Commander smiled. The General had forgotten to take his weapons and tools. His weapon, in particular, would help coerce the human into doing his bidding. Still smiling, Zyrag moved in the direction of the human...<p>

* * *

><p>Voldemort was moving swiftly through the Forest, reflecting on the events of the last few hours. As soon as the Doctor walked back into the castle, the force field containing him was removed, and the ship hovering above Hogwarts engaged its engines and flew into orbit. It had taken Voldemort a few seconds to realise that he was free, but he apparated into the Forest as soon as he did. He had wandered through the Forest since then, taking out his anger at the day's events by slaughtering any animal that was unfortunate enough to cross his path. One thought, however, angered him more than any others did, and that thought was Barty Crouch. The fact that a Death Eater would actually join forces with Dumbledore and Hogwarts was infuriating, At least Dumbledore was dead; he had seen that silly old fool disintegrate into dust as he tried to negotiate with those creatures.<p>

A twig snapped behind him. Voldemort immediately whirled around and sent off a dozen killing curses in the general direction of the sound. To his surprise, not one of them hit anything apart from the foliage.

"Your aim needs improving, human," hissed a voice.

"Who's there?" Voldemort demanded, trying to locate the voice's owner. "Show yourself to Lord Voldemort!"

One of the creatures he had seen on the battlefield stepped out of the shadows.

"It would be unwise to test my patience, human," the creature hissed. "But I see that you are currently missing an army."

"Explain yourself!"

The creature drew itself up to its full height. "I am the Commander of Zygon forces here on Earth. I was watching as your army foolishly tried to flank mine. We pulled one of our Strike Ships from orbit and ordered it to wipe out your army."

"Then what stops you from killing me now?" Voldemort asked. "All you have to do is point that thing and shoot a spell at me."

The zygon laughed. "Spell? Why would zygons use radiation to kill our enemies?" Seeing Voldemort's confused look, Zyrag elaborated. "We have analysed of the devises that you call 'wands', and we have found that they are simply radiation transmitters."

Voldemort stared at the zygon for a moment before recovering himself. "Enough!" he shouted. "Tell me what you want or I'll find I'll use the cruciatus curse to tear your nerves apart...if you have nerves."

Zyrag glared at Voldemort. "An alliance is what I ask!" he snapped. "I would be here if it weren't for the fact that one man has ruined my plans!"

"Barty Crouch," Voldemort breathed. "He stopped the fighting. He called for a cease fire!"

The creature nodded. "The General should not have listened to him! We should have killed him and everyone else!"

Voldemort sensed that he might have another chance to take down Hogwarts, so he went along with the zygon. "Yes, we must kill Crouch!

Zyrag frowned, the smiled. "Humans must have another name for him. My species call him the Doctor, and I want the Doctor dead so I can resume the war and conquer this pathetic planet. In return for your alliance, you would receive anything you desired."

Voldemort considered. Anything he desired? That would include eternal life, Hogwarts, control of the magical world and revenge. And if the creature didn't follow the agreement, it could be easily disposed of.

"One condition," he said finally.

"Name it," hissed Zyrag in anticipation.

"I get to kill Harry Potter and Barty Crouch,"

"Deal," Zyrag replied immediately. "Let's get started."

* * *

><p><em>General's Log: Third Day of Invasion<br>_

_Held peace talks with the Doctor today. He seemed thankful that an Invasion Force has actually agreed to a ceasefire. Concerning that – there is no ceasefire. I have ordered that this Invasion Force be stopped, and that we co-exist with the humans. The Doctor even suggested that we live in the lakes around the Human Establishment. Not everyone is happy, of course, but the Zygon Council has approved it, and partial colonisation will begin in the next few months._

_I'm a bit worried about Zyrag, though. He's somehow managed to disappear off our detection systems._

* * *

><p>"No, John, I refuse to allow it!" shouted Umbridge, pacing around her office.<p>

"Why not?" the Doctor shot back. "They've as much right to life as you do!"

"B-b-but we can't have our enemies living in the lakes surrounding the school!" spluttered Umbridge. "That's madness!"

The Doctor sighed. "I've been through this before, Dolores. The zygon's will keep their word and never attack the school again."

"And how can you be so sure of that?" asked Umbridge.

The Doctor paused, trying to think of an answer. Unfortunately, he couldn't find one. Umbridge immediately seized the opportunity.

"There!" she cried triumphantly. "If even you can't be sure that they can keep their word, then why should they stay? They should be killed, every last one of them!"

"Are you suggesting that the magical community commit genocide, Dolores?" the Doctor said warningly.

"Yes I am!" Umbridge declared. "And I took the initiative of alerting Cornelius to this fact. He is going to send a hit squad of aurors and dementors to clean out the zygons."

It was at this moment that the Doctor realised that Umbridge was mad. She had to be stopped, whatever the cost.

"Dolores, listen to me," the Doctor pleaded. "You have no hope of killing all of the zygons. Even if you somehow manage to kill the ones here, the Zygon Council will just send reinforcements, or destroy the castle from their battle cruisers orbiting above the planet!"

"Nothing can destroy Hogwarts," Umbridge declared confidently. "Now, I must be going. I do have an army to direct, after all."

"For the last time, Dolores, stop this madness now, or I'll have to stop you! Remember what I told you a few months ago?" the Doctor shouted after her, but she ignored him. Sighing once again, the Doctor pulled out a communicator that the Zygon General had given him.

"General?" the Doctor said into the communicator. "Yes, it's me; we've got a problem... Umbridge has raised a small army and is going to attempt to attack you... Umbridge, you know, the woman I told you about ... yes... right, that's a good idea, just remember to keep those shields on to repel the dementors...oh, sorry, they're big flying things that suck happiness out of you... great!...yep, I'll sort her out...thanks."

The Doctor turned the communicator off, his face grim.

"Right," he said. "Let's deal with Umbridge."

* * *

><p>"Oh, my god, Ron!" screamed Hermione, running towards the redhead as she and Harry entered Gryffindor Common Room.<p>

"Geroff, Hermione," mumbled Ron into her shoulder as she hugged him. "I'm fine."

"I was so worried about you, Ginny, Fred and George," Hermione sobbed.

"Don't worry, they're all fine. It's just that ... well, we lost a lot of good people today. Lavender, Seamus..." replied Ron

"Seamus?" asked Harry in disbelief.

"Yeah," answered Ron, a little shakily. "He fell right on top of me, actually, though it would be more accurate to say he _blew_ all over me. I never want to see that happen to anyone, ever again."

"I'm with you there, mate," said Harry. Suddenly, Ron froze and pointed over Harry's shoulder.

"Harry, run, it's Barty Crouch!" he said, face draining of all colour.

Harry turned to see the Doctor grit his teeth and roll his eyes.

"Don't worry, Ron," he laughed, turning back to his friend. "That's the Doctor." Seeing Ron's blank look, he elaborated. "Y'know, Professor Smith. Apparently his personal timeline was wound back a few years, so now he looks like Barty Crouch for some reason."

"Good explanation, Harry," the Doctor cut in before Ron could respond. "Now Harry, Ron, Hermione, I need you all to come with me. Umbridge is going to attack the zygons, and I need to stop her."

"By using that?" asked Hermione, pointing to a gun-shaped object in the Doctor's right hand.

"Yes," was the Doctor's reply. Ron was looking at the object curiously.

"What is that?" he asked.

"It's a De-mat gun," explained the Doctor. "Basically, it removes anyone or anything from space and time, so that they never existed. I found it in a cupboard in the TARDIS. It must've been left over from the ..." he coughed, before recovering himself. "Anyway, allonsy!" he said, heading out the portrait hole.

"Professor," called Hermione, running after him, with Harry and Ron right behind her. "You don't intend to use that thing, do you?"

The Doctor snorted. "'Course not," he smiled. "But Umbridge doesn't know that, does she?"

Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged dubious looks. What was the point of bringing a weapon to a fight if you weren't going to use it?

* * *

><p>From their vantage point in the Forest, Zyrag and Voldemort observed Umbridge's Army.<p>

"She's brought dementors...good," mused Voldemort.

"Her soldiers will be easily captured and made to fight for us," noted Zyrag, "But I have not encountered these 'dementors' before. How do we eliminate them?"

"We don't," replied Voldemort. "They obey the Ministry on my orders; they are actually loyal to me."

"Excellent," exclaimed Zyrag. "Call them to us. No doubt those pathetic warriors will follow, only to be converted to our cause!"

"As you wish," Voldemort said, and lifted his right sleeve and pressed a finger to the Dark Mark tattooed there.

* * *

><p>"You lot will attack from the left and right flanks, while the dementors charge the front. With any luck, the dementors will distract their err, weapons, allowing you, the best Aurors in the country, to sneak on board, kill all of those squid people, and take control of their ship. Understood?" ordered Umbridge as she stood in front of the auror and dementor army.<p>

The aurors mumbled a reply and moved to take their positions, while the dementors disobeyed her and glided over to the Forest.

"Where are you going?" Umbridge shouted at the dementors, but to no avail. "What are you standing there for?" she shrieked at the dumbfounded aurors. "Go and get them!"

"Looks like your army is deserting you, Dolores," said a cheerful voice behind her as the aurors rushed off. Fuming, Umbridge turned to see the Doctor, Harry, Ron and Hermione approach her.

"This is all your fault, John," she said, pointing a finger at him accusingly.

The Doctor shrugged, but raised his hand and pointed the gun at her. "I'm sorry, Dolores," he said earnestly, "but please, call off the attack. This whole thing can be solved peacefully."

"No, it can't," replied Umbridge, and before anyone could react, she had successfully disarmed the Doctor, sending the de-mat gun flying out of his hands.

"I've had enough of you interfering, John," she said, her wand trained over the Doctor's left heart. "If the Minister knew what was a cost...yes, he'd let me do it," she said, trying to reassure herself of something. Harry, meanwhile, sneaked around to where the de-mat gun lay, and picked it up.

"Yes, I will do it," Umbridge declared shakily. She took a deep breath, before moving her wand arm so that her wand was aimed at the Doctor's face. "Avada-"

"Hey Umbridge!" shouted Harry, stopping Umbridge from casting her spell. He held the de-mat gun in his hand, and it was pointed at Umbridge's heart. "Always know where the enemy's gun lands!" he said.

The Doctor's eyes went wide as he realised what Harry was going to do.

"No, Harry, you mustn't!" he said in horror.

"You can't do it, can you, Harry?" teased Umbridge, slowly stepping away, preparing to run for it.

"Oh, yeah?" answered Harry, and pulled the trigger. A beam of red energy shot out of the gun and enveloped Umbridge, who gave a little shriek before she was erased from space and time forever, leaving no memory of her existence.


	22. Mutiny

Chapter 21 – Mutiny

Harry lowered the gun slowly, looking at it curiously.

"Professor," he asked. "Why am I holding your...thing?"

"You just shot Umbridge," replied the Doctor, looking at Harry, anger evident in his eyes as he snatched the gun back.

"Umbridge?" asked Harry, puzzled. "Who's that?"

"No, it's worse than that," continued the Doctor. "You erased her from time and space; she never existed!"

"Professor, what are you talking about? Harry never erased anyone from existence," Hermione said.

The Doctor ignored her. "Nobody should have the power to dictate who exist or didn't –" He stopped, remembering how he himself had used the De-mat Gun to erase his foes from existence during the Time War. If he told Harry off for erasing a single person, then he was a very big hyporcrite. The Doctor groaned.

"Humans, why do I ever put up with them?" he asked himself, before turning to the trio. "Come on, we haven't got all day!" he said, walking towards the Forest, with three extremely confused teenagers behind him.

* * *

><p>It was all over in seconds. The dementors had glided over to where Voldemort and Zyrag were, with the aurors close behind. Once the aurors were in range, Zyrag activated a hypnosis device that converted all the aurors to Voldemort and Zyrag's cause.<p>

Nymphadora Tonks was one of those Aurors, but, for some reason, she managed to resist the device. She looked on in horror as her workmates lumbered over to the Forest.

"Kingsley, what are you doing?" she asked, tugging, on his arm. We he proved unresponsive, she deduced that they were all being affected by something along the lines of the Imperius curse. Wanting to see what was causing all of this, she joined the back of the group, pretending to be hypnotised. The group stopped, and, by straining her ears, she managed to catch part of a conversation

"... an unshielded fuel port on this left side, next to the anti-grav propulsion unit. If the dementors charge the main gate, distracting the automated defence systems, you humans should be able to sneak onboard. Once inside, you can kill anyone you like, save for the General. I want the pleasure of killing him myself," said the voice. Tonks stood on tip toes, and gasped when she saw one of the creatures standing next to Voldemort.

"We hear and obey, o mighty Zyrag!" said one of the conditioned aurors, and he led the group and the dementors out of the Forest and toward the zygon mothership.

Tonks quickly hid behind a tree, and watched the group march towards the mothership.

"I need to tell someone about all this," she thought in a panic. She quickly scanned Hogwarts' grounds, and saw Harry, Ron and Hermione following a stranger as he also walked toward the zygon ship. Knowing that she could trust the three teenagers, she quickly set off in a run in their direction.

* * *

><p>"Harry, Ron, Hermione!" shouted Tonks. To her relief, all three turned to her.<p>

"What's wrong, Tonks?" asked Hermione worriedly.

"It's the aurors – they've been imperiused so that Voldemort and one of those creatures control them!"

"What?" said the Doctor, entering the conversation. "Did you hear what their plan was?"

"Err, the thing was talking about err, fuel ports and, um, anti-gravy propulsion units," she replied. "Who're you anyway?"

The Doctor ignored her, running his hand through his hair, eyes wide and darting, trying to think of a plan. "Come on! Think!" he shouted in desperation. "No, yes, oh, oh, yes!" he cried triumphantly, pulling the zygon communicator out of his pocket.

"General? Yeah, it's me. Look, your Commander has somehow managed to gain control of some human troops and is sending via one of the fuel ports, probably one near the anti-grav units. No, it's no good cancelling out the control signal, because they've been ordered to kill you anyway. The best option would probably be to – General? General?" The Doctor lowered the communicator, his face grim. "I think the ship's just been overrun be the aurors."

"What do we do know?" asked Ron.

"I don't know, I really don't know," replied the Doctor, a split second before he was enveloped in a haze of blue light and disappeared.

"What happened? Where did he go?" said Tonks, looking wildly around.

"I don't know, but I have a hunch he's over there," answered Hermione tentatively, nodding at the zygon ship.

* * *

><p>The Doctor materialised in the main control room of the Zygon mothership.<p>

"Ah, Doctor," said Zygrag immediately. "So nice of you to join us."

"Where's the General? What have you done with him?" the Doctor demanded.

"Always so compassionate, aren't you?" sneered Zyrag, indicating to an auror, who went up to the Doctor and pushed him into a control panel. Several buttons were pressed, and levers pulled, before a stasis cylinder descended from the ceiling, trapping the Time Lord inside.

"The General is quite safe, for the moment at least, Barty," Voldemort said, gliding up to the Doctor.

The Doctor groaned. "Please don't tell me that you think I'm Barty Crouch," he said.

Voldemort stepped back, surprised. "You aren't Crouch?" he asked.

"I'm not Crouch," repeated the Doctor, his expression making it seem as if this fact were obvious for everyone in the room.

"Then who are you?"

"Like I said, he's the Doctor" hissed Zyrag. "Now, Time Lord, the Zygon Council has overridden the weapons deployment systems, meaning that we can't open fire on that pathetic castle!"

"What do you need me for?" asked the Doctor.

"We need someone to crack the code and restore the system to us," replied Zyrag, leering into the Doctor's face.

"Why don't you ask the General? I'm pretty sure he'll be able to help you," the Doctor pointed out.

"We have, Crouch, but the fool says he doesn't know the code either," put in Voldemort.

"Which I had already told you, human," snapped Zyrag. "Yet you continued to torture the General unnecessarily. Anyway," he continued, turning back to the Doctor. "Would you be able to do it?"

"Yeah, easily," answered the Doctor, pulling out his sonic screwdriver. "But why would you trust me? I could easily _dis_able the weapons systems, then short circuit the anti-grav reactor feeds."

"For a Time Lord, your knowledge is pitiful," laughed Zyrag. "The controls to the anti-grav reactor feeds are on that console," he said, pointing behind the Doctor. "The weapons systems are here," he continued, indicating to a control panel next to him.

"But I could still disable the weapons..." the Doctor said hopefully.

"You can only disable the weapons after you've broken through the Council's encryption," replied Zyrag. "We're not stupid enough to let you stay at the console longer than you need to be,"

The Doctor sighed. "Alright, I'll do it. Just spare the Commander and the other zygons on board. Teleport them to the Fleet."

"You are not in a position to bargain, Crouch!" hissed Voldemort.

"Stand down, human," ordered Zyrag, and Voldemort retreated, fury evident on his face. Zyrag activated a few controls, then released the Doctor from his holding cell.

"The Commander and the crew have been returned the Fleet," Zyrag said. "The teleport link is now closed, so don't think that anyone will come to rescue you."

"I don't need a rescue," the Doctor said, walking over to Zyrag, hands in pockets. "Because I know, that in exactly two minutes, your anti-grav reactor feed is going to short circuit, thus igniting the zeiton crystals inside, causing this entire ship to explode!"

"You lie!" hissed Zyrag, who threw the Doctor aside and went over to inspect several readings from a control panel. "How did you know?" he said after a moment.

"Oh, I just managed to 'stumble' and fiddle with the controls when one of your henchmen pushed me," the Doctor answered, a grin splattered across his face.

"Everyone, out!" Zygrag screamed, and promptly ran from the room, Voldemort close behind. Alarms started blaring, and red lights flickered on and off.

"Time to go," said the Doctor, shutting off the hypnosis loop, freeing the Aurors from their trance, and pushing them out of the room.

"60 seconds remaining," a voice said over the loud speakers. The aurors were now safely off the ship, and the Doctor was running through the corridors.

"30 seconds..."

"Come on, come on," the Doctor said through gritted teeth. There had to be an exit somewhere.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 ..."

The Doctor came to a dead end. Running his hands through his hair, he looked around. There was no way forward, only back. He'd never get out in time.

"3, 2, 1..."

* * *

><p>Outside, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Tonks, along with the assembled Aurors, watched in awe as the Zygon Mothership ignited in a ball of flame, the shockwave sending everyone in a two kilometre radius flailing to the ground. The side of Hogwarts facing the ship crumbled, while half of the trees in the Forbidden Forest were flattened.<p>

Groaning, Tonks helped the teenagers to their feet.

"Where's Professor Smith?" Harry coughed, looking around.

"I think," squeaked Hermione, "that he was still in that thing when it, you know, exploded."

Harry, Ron and Tonks looked in shock at the burning wreckage of the Zygon mothership. Professor Smith was dead. They were on their own.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry for updating so late, but life suddenly became really busy. Still, better late than never!**


	23. Time Turners

Chapter 22 – Time Turners

"Damn!" spat Zyrag, as he inspected the wreckage of the mothership.

"It's your own fault, creature," sneered Voldemort. "If you had just kept Crouch where he originally was, he wouldn't have had the chance to ruin our plans!"

Zyrag's reaction was immediate; he whirled around, his blaster under Voldemort's chin. "Be careful of what you say, human," Zyrag snarled. "Just because we're in an alliance doesn't mean you're not expendable." He replaced his gun in its holster.

"Whatever," Voldemort replied. Zyrag would regret that action, and would pay dearly. It was just a matter of timing. "So, what are we going to do now? You don't have an army, and all neither do I. All my Death Eaters were killed by your species."

Zyrag thought for a moment. "Have your species developed time travel technology yet?" he asked finally.

"Yes," answered Voldemort. "Though I fail to see how that will help us go back in time and save my men; our devices can only carry a maximum of three people. Any more than that and it gets hard to keep the necklace from breaking."

"That is of no consequence," said Zyrag dismissively. "I may be able to salvage enough from this wreckage to rectify that problem. We do have one, more pressing matter: where can I find these devices, and are they easily accessible?"

Voldemort laughed. "The time turners are kept at the Ministry, but it's full of fools, you should be able to sneak in easily."

"Excellent," said Zyrag. "I have a plan..."

* * *

><p>"No, Harry, you simply can't!" shouted Hermione furiously.<p>

"Aw, why not, Hermione? Look, all I'm doing is-" said Harry, but he was interrupted by his angry friend.

"You're interfering with time itself, Harry!" said Hermione. "You can't just go back in time and tell Professor Smith to ask for a map of that ship so that he knows how to get out before it explodes!"

"And why not?" asked Harry, on the defensive.

"Because you never did in the first place!"

"How do you know?"

Hermione sighed in exasperation. Why couldn't Harry understand?

"Because, if you had gone back in time and told him to get a map, then we wouldn't be here having this conversation! He'd be alive and well, and in all likelihood, would've defeated Voldemort and that zygon!"

"She's right, you know, mate," added Ron, giving Harry a sympathetic smile.

"Fine," said Harry, his temper rising. "If none of my _friends_ will help me save our only hope of survival, I'll do it alone. I'll break into the Ministry and find the Time Turners. When Professor Smith and I walk through that door, you'll know I was right."

Hermione sighed again. "Whatever, Harry. Just remember: if it all goes wrong, it's your fault, not ours."

"I'll go with him, Hermione," said Tonks, who had been observing the heated conversation from the corner of the room in which they were in.

"Tonks! How could you?" asked Hermione, surprised at the auror's behaviour.

"He needs someone to watch him, and if you guys don't, he'll go by himself and get into trouble," sighed Tonks.

"Thanks Tonks," said Harry gratefully. "Now, let's go!"

* * *

><p>Two hours, Harry and Tonks were sneaking through the bowels of the Ministry, Tonks having bluffed their way in.<p>

"So, what department are the Time Turners in, exactly?" asked Harry.

"To tell the truth, I don't actually know for sure, but there are rumours that the Department of Mysteries are doing experiments on time, so I figured that'd be the best place to start."

"Good thinking," Harry said, as the approached the door to the said department.

"All right, here goes," said Harry nervously, and he turned the handle. Miraculously, the door swung open noiselessly. Walking through the doorway, Harry and Tonks found themselves in a circular room, with doors embedded in the circumference.

"Where to now?" Harry asked.

"No idea," the auror replied. "It's your call."

"Well, in my dreams, I've always walked to the door in front of me," said Harry, more to himself. Making the decision, he went up to that door and pulled it open.

"Wow," breathed Harry; he couldn't help it. The room was rather small, but the walls were lined with beautiful antique cabinets, which were intricately carved with ornate patterns. Inside those cabinets were the time turners, their hour glass shape sparkling in the dim glow of the lights.

"These are beautiful," said Harry, moving closer to inspect one of the cabinets. Looking closely, he saw a tall box engraved in the wood, with a man who looked oddly familiar.

"Professor Smith!" gasped Harry. He took his glasses of and cleaned them furiously, before jamming them back on his face, but there was no change. Professor Smith's original form was clearly engraved in the cabinet; the carved figure even wore a bowtie!

"Tonks, have a look at this," Harry called out, before, quite suddenly, being thrown to the floor.

"What the -" Harry spluttered, climbing to his feet.

"Freeze, human," hissed a voice. Harry looked up and saw a zygon pointing a weapon at him. He gulped.

"What do you want? What have you done with Tonks?"

"I haven't done anything, she's just momentarily incapacitated," the zygon said. "As for what I want, the answer is complete domination of this planet."

"You and Voldemort, you've exactly the same ideals," said Harry bitterly. "No wonder you teamed up! What are you doing here?"

"The fool Voldemort needs an army, but his troops are all dead. We needed one of these pathetic time turners, so I infiltrated this establishment. By luck, you two just blundered in, leading me straight to where I wanted to go."

"You'll never get out of here," said Harry through gritted teeth. "Tonks'll revive soon; she'll stop you from escaping.

"Idiot human," the zygon sneered. "You forget, we zygons are vastly superior to you humans. My ally is currently in the scout ship, and will activate the teleport controls very soon, beaming me and one of these cabinets straight to the ship."

"What do you want the Time Turners for?" asked Harry, confused.

"As I said, human, I am lacking an army..." answered the zygon.

"You're to go back and stop the Death Eaters from being destroyed!" Harry realised, gasping.

The zygon rolled its eyes. "Humans; so pitiful. No, human, I am not going to stop them from being destroyed. Doing so would cause a paradox and probably destroy this planet."

"So what are you going to do?"

The zygon laughed. "Just how stupid do you think I am, human? I'm not going to tell you the plan; you'll have to figure it out yourself!" Dots of blue light began clustering around the zygon and the cabinet behind him.

"Ah, I think my ally is ready to activate the teleport. A few words of advice: get back to the castle. You never know what might happen if you stay. Goodbye, human!" said the zygon, leering.

"No!" shouted Harry, but it was too late. The zygon and a cabinet were enveloped in a haze of blue light and disappeared. Harry had time to utter several expletives before Tonks reappeared, her wand held threateningly.

"What the hell just happened?" she asked, lowering her wand when she realised it was only Harry.

"We need to get back to Hogwarts, now," said Harry, walking out of the room.

"Why?" asked Tonks, hurrying to catch up to the teenager.

"Because that's where the zygon is going. It and Voldemort are going back in time to rescue his Death Eaters," explained Harry as they closed the door to the circular room and began hurrying down the corridor afterwards.

"No!" gasped Tonks. "We've got to stop him! Did you get a time turner too?"

Harry skidded to a halt. "No, I forgot!" he said in horror. He quickly turned and ran back up the corridor to the door, reaching for its handle -

BOOM!

Something behind the door exploded, the shockwave sending Harry flying backwards into Tonks, who had come running up the corridor after him.

"You alright, Harry?" she asked, once they had both dusted themselves off.

"Yeah," replied Harry shakily. "I'm just glad the door held."

"We need to go now," said Tonks urgently. "There's no hope of you getting a time turner now – even if they survived that blast."

"Fine," agreed Harry, somewhat crossly. Tonks grasped his arm.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Side-along-apparation," the auror explained. "The anti-disapparation charms would have collapsed after an explosion of that size."

Harry opened his mouth to protest, but instead found himself experiencing the usual discomfort of apparation.

"Ow!" he groaned, as his feet thudded on the ground. He stood up slowly, taking in his surroundings. They had apparated directly into the Great Hall, where another huge battle seemed to be taking place. A crowd had formed a semi-circle around the doors, and were fighting hard to keep something out.

'_Probably Voldemort's army,_' thought Harry, turning around. The injured and dead were lying on stretchers behind the staff tables, which had been turned on their sides, acting like a barricade.

"What the hell is going on here?" asked Tonks. Harry opened his mouth to voice his thoughts, but was interrupted by a loud _BANG_, which sent everyone in the room sprawling, including the defenders surrounding the door. They quickly scrambled to their feet and made for the doors, but it was too late, and they could only cover half the distance they needed before Voldemort walked through the doors, Death Eaters by his side.

"The battle is won. You have lost half of your fighters. My Death Eaters outnumber you, and your hero and saviour, Barty Crouch, is finished. There must be no more war. Anyone who continues to resist, man, woman or child, will be slaughtered, as will every member of their family. Com out of the castle, now, kneel before me, and you shall be spared. Your parents and children, your brothers and sisters will live, and be forgiven, and you will join me in the new world we shall build together," Voldemort declared. He had won. The Order of the Phoenix had been defeated, the resistance crushed.

'Why had those mysterious creatures not saved us? Where was Harry Potter? Where did You-Know-Who get his army from?' the crowd muttered, while Voldemort waited patiently for the crowd's verdict.

Suddenly, Harry fought his way to the front of the crowd, causing gasps and whispers.

"Ah, Harry," Voldemort breathed, eyes gleaming. "Come to meet your fate at last."

"To hell I haven't," replied Harry. He turned to the crowd behind him. "Professor Smith may be dead, but that doesn't mean we have to give up," he said shouted. "While there's hope, while there's freedom, we continue to fight!"

"You don't get it, do you, Potter," Voldemort snarled as the crowd roared in appreciation of Harry's words. "The traitor Crouch is dead; he died when that machine blew up yesterday!"

"I know," Harry answered simply, a smile forming on his face. "But," he continued, as a faint, wheezing, groaning sound began emanating from behind Voldemort, "hope is never truly destroyed. And here it comes."

Everyone in the hall stared in shock as a blue box faded into existence with a loud wheezing, groaning sound. Voldemort stepped back as the air displacement caused his robes to fly out behind him, as if he were in flight.

"What is this magic?" cried Voldemort, as the box materialised with final _thud_.

The Death Eaters raised the wands as the doors to the box squeaked open and a head popped out.

"Hello, Harry," said Professor Smith, a goofy grin splattered across his face. "Did you miss me?"


	24. The End of the War

Chapter 23 – The End of the War

"Crouch!" breathed Voldemort.

"Mouldy-wart," countered Professor Smith, causing everyone to laugh.

"How are you still alive?" Voldemort shouted. "You didn't escape from that ship before the explosion."

Professor Smith unhooked something from his wrist, and Harry recognised it as the device Professor Smith had been wearing when he first appeared after the Invasion had arrived.

"This, Mouldy-wart, is a Vortex Manipulator," Professor Smith was saying, strolling up to Voldemort and waving the device in his face. "It's a piece of 51st Century technology that allows cheap and nasty time travel. It works by -" he stopped and frowned. "As a matter of fact, I'm not sure how it works; probably something I need to check up on soon. But anyway," he continued, not giving Voldemort the chance to speak. "Where's your zygon buddy? I'd have thought he would be here, sharing in the glory. After all, you have just managed to conquer Hogwarts."

Voldemort sneered. "That creature, zygon, you called it, is dead, Barty. I had had enough of his insolence, and so slaughtered him once he had brought my soldiers back from the past."

"You didn't have to kill him, you know," Professor Smith said softly, with an underlying tone of anger. "You could have delivered him to his own kind, and let them deal with him."

Voldemort opened his mouth to reply, but Professor Smith cut him off again.

"But I'd like to know how he managed to extract your minions from the past before they were all killed. No one on Earth has time travel technology of that standard, not even this lot," he said, nodding his head towards the assembled crowd behind him.

"The zygon constructed a device out of a time turner, and some other objects from his ship in the lake," hissed Voldemort.

"The scout ship, of course," groaned Professor Smith, "How did I forget that?"

"It just proves how much of a fool you are, Crouch," sneered Voldemort.

Professor Smith just grinned boyishly. "Well," he said, reaching into a pocket and taking out his sonic screwdriver. "I've always got options." He pressed the button on the sonic screwdriver.

A loud _BANG_ issued from a pocket in Voldemort's robes, and an electrical smell soon wafted around the Great Hall. This was the least of Voldemorts' worries, however, as one look behind him revealed the fact that all his Death Eaters had disappeared.

"What have you done?" screamed Voldemort, whirling back around to face Professor Smith, who didn't even flinch at the wizard's expression of utmost fury.

"I just fried the anchor circuits; the parts that kept the your guys here, in the future," explained Professor Smith with a shrug.

BANG! Professor Smith flew through the air, landing painfully against one of the stone walls. Voldemort advanced, wand raised menacingly.

"I have tried time and time again to take this castle," Voldemort shouted. "But every time I have been thrwarted by this man, or as a result of this man's actions." He forced Professor Smith to move so that he was standing between himself and the assembled crowd, who promptly began raising their own wands. Voldemort was unfazed, and he quickly conjured an immensely strong shield charm between the crowd and Professor Smith.

"People of Hogwars," Voldemort called out, his wand pointed at Professor Smith. "See what happens to those who defy Lord Voldemort!"

Harry couldn't help himself. "Professor Smith, run!" he called out. Professor Smith just looked at him – and winked. Harry couldn't understand, what was Professor Smith up to?

"Avada Kedavra!" screamed Voldemort, and Harry immediately shut his eyes, not wanting to see his teacher die.

"The thing is," said Professor Smith's voice. "That spell is only a highly controlled dose of radiation. While that particular dosage is lethal to humans, _I'm not human_."

Harry opened his eyes to see Professor Smith standing exactly where he had been. He was smiling triumphantly at a gawking Voldemort, and a faint gold light seemed to be sneaking its way out of his shirt's collar and sleeves.

"What are you?" Voldemort screamed in desperation, as the golden light around Professor Smith increased in intensity.

"Time Lord," replied Professor Smith calmly, before bending over backwards, the light now pouring from his collar and sleeves. Everyone except Harry shielded their eyes from the blinding glare the light emitted. Harry concentrated hard; he could just make out Professor Smith's face. His spiky brown hair seemed to be lengthening and darkening, the nose was getting bigger. The more Harry looked, the more he realised that Professor Smith's face was changing back into the one that Harry had first seen.

With a final surge of energy, the golden light dissipated, and there stood Professor Smith, the_ real_ Professor Smith, with long, dark hair that was swept to one said, and a very young, boyish face.

"Whoa, hello, everyone!" said Professor Smith beaming around at the shocked crowd. "I must say, it's very nice to be back. I never really did like the old me, even if all the girls did. Now, where's Mouldy-wart?"

Voldemort was shocked. "How did you do that?" he demanded. "I command you to tell me the spell you used!"

Harry tried to get through the shield charm to help Professor Smith, but, to his surprise, met no resistance.

'_The shield charm must have been destroyed_,' he thought. '_Possibly by the golden energy Professor Smith emitted._'

"Stupefy!" he yelled, his wand pointed at Voldemort. Voldemort was too preoccupied with Professor Smith to notice the incoming spell, and he slumped to the ground when it hit.

"Thank you, Harry," Professor Smith said gratefully, and he reached down and started pulling Voldemort's unconscious body towards the TARDIS.

"Come on, Mouldy, we've got to go somewhere. You want to live forever, don't you? Well, I've got the best way to do it..." said Professor Smith as he dragged the Voldemort into the TARDIS. The crowd could only watch as it disappeared with a wheezing, groaning sound, taking Voldemort and Professor Smith with it.

* * *

><p>The celebrations lasted all night. Although no one could know for certain that they'd seen the last of Voldemort, everyone seemed to feel that he'd been defeated anyway. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Tonks were more preoccupied with Professor Smith. They were up in the Gryffindor Common Room, where, so far, the party had not reached.<p>

"He'll be alright, you know that, Harry," Hermione said, trying to cheer him up.

"Yeah, Hermione's right," added Ron. "I mean, he even survived that big explosion, and we all thought he was dead then didn't we?"

Harry laughed bitterly.

"Come to think of it," said Tonks. "Did he actually explain how he survived?"

"No, I don't think he did. He just said he had used a Vitex Mapulta, or whatever," frowned Ron.

Harry sighed and got up. "I'm going for a walk," he said. "Alone," he added, as Hermione made to go with him.

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later, he found himself wandering the fourth floor corridor, thinking about the events of the past few days. All those people who had died, Malfoy, Seamus, Lavender and someone who he couldn't think of at the moment. He had a hunch it was a teacher. Harry was so caught up with his thoughts that he walked headlong into a big, blue box. For a moment Harry just stared at the box, before hearing a sound behind him.<p>

"Hello, Harry," said Professor Smith. "Something on your mind?"

Relief flooded Harry's mind.

"You're alive," he said.

"I'm always alive," said Professor Smith. "I'm the King of Alive, but that's only because I've had eleven," he added, more to himself.

There were a million things that Harry wanted to ask him, so he started with the most obvious. "What did you do with Voldemort?"

Professor Smith's face darkened. "He wanted to live forever, didn't he? Let's just say that I granted his wish."

Harry wanted to know more, but knew better than to press the subject, and instead asked another, more pressing question. "How did you escape? The ship exploding, I mean."

At this, Professor Smith tried not to look smug. "Like I said earlier, I used my Vortex Manipulator. Trouble was, I left it too late, and only just had time to teleport out. I ended up 3 days in the future, onboard one of the zygon ships above the planet. They told me what had happened since the explosion, and that a future version of me had told them not to interfere when the mothership blew up."

"So it's your fault that we didn't get any backup from the zygons!" said Harry angrily.

"Don't blame me," Professor Smith replied indignantly."I haven't done it yet. Blame me _after_ I've done it, not before. Dear me, what do they teach you here?"

Harry had another question he wanted to ask.

"The zygons, what's going to happen to them? Are the still going to live in the lake?"

"Yep!" said Professor Smith, reverting back to his usual childish self. "I've talked it all over with the merpeople, they're happy to share. Only don't tell anyone," he added, looking around nervously. "No one else knows. It's strictly between the zygons and the merpeople. I don't think your lot will be too accepting, not after their invasion."

Harry opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by the sound of running feet as Hermione, Ron and Tonks ran around a corner.

"I told you I wanted to be alone," Harry said crossly.

"We got the Marauder's Map out to see where you were," explained Ron. "Then we saw Professor Smith's dot, and rushed down to see him."

Professor Smith was curious. "A map that tells you where people are?" he asked. "Did it tell you my name?"

"Err, I don't think so," Ron replied, frowning slightly. "Unless 'the Doctor' is your name."

Professor Smith just grinned. "Right!" he said, clapping his hands together. "You lot, off you go, you've got plenty of things to party about now, haven't you? Mouldy-wart's out of your hair, the zygons won't cause any more trouble. All that's left in the equation is me!"

"What, you're not leaving now, are you?" asked Tonks in surprise

"Yeah, well, I've things to do. Places to go. People to see. Amy and Rory, haven't seen them for a while. A couple of months, in fact. I should probably go and visit them...no wait, hang on! I've got to go back in time and tell those zygons not to interfere."

"But you're coming back, surely," said Ron.

Professor Smith snorted. "Yeah, sure. Like I'd want to face all those questions from the Ministry!"

"But you can't go!" Hermione insisted. "There's so much that needs to be cleaned up, and the Ministry will want an explanation!"

Professor Smith laughed. "The Ministry is not the boss of me," he said, walking up to the TARDIS and opening the door. "Goodbye, Ron, Hermione, Harry and, err," he paused, looking at Tonks.

"Oh, um, Tonks, Nymphadora Tonks," Tonks said, blushing.

Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged knowing looks.

Professor Smith saluted Tonks. "Thank you, Nymphadora, for everything that you've – ugh!"

Tonks had reached forward and grabbed Professor Smith's shoulders, bringing him in for a kiss.

Hermione, Ron and Harry quietly slipped inside the TARDIS, knowing that Professor Smith wouldn't see them.

It was at least a minute before Tonks broke the kiss, letting Professor Smith take big gulps of air.

"Ah, well, yes," said Professor Smith nervously, scratching his cheek. "I must say that was, err, _unexpected_, but nice. Yes, unexpected, but nice, there you go!" he said, beaming at Tonks as if everything had been solved.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay, Professor?" Tonks asked hopefully

Professor Smith now looked really nervous. "No," he replied. "I mean, yes! Yes, I'm sure I don't want to stay," he added hastily as Tonks raised her eyebrow. "Where did those three get to? Oh well, I suppose I could pop in next year and say hello, but don't get any ideas," he told Tonks warningly, seeing a trace of hope flicker across her face.

"Fine. See you next time, then," she said sadly. Professor Smith gave a cheery wave and disappeared into the TARDIS. Seconds later, it dematerialised with a wheezing, groaning sound, leaving a crestfallen Tonks behind. Sighing, she turned and walked back up the corridor.

'_There's always Remus, I suppose,'_ she though, a smile playing across her lips.


	25. Geronimo!

Chapter 24 – Geronimo!

"Look, I know you want to help, but trust me, you didn't, and doing so would only cause big explodey thing that would make the Reapers to appear, and trust me, you won't want that!" said the Doctor to the zygon Commander as he entered the TARDIS. He had just finished talking things over with the Zygon Council, telling them not to attack Voldemort's army, as such an action would cause a paradox. He had also made them agree not to ever attack Hogwarts, or any human, for that matter, while they were living on Earth.

The Doctor closed the door and bounded up to the control console, only to see Harry's head quickly duck down behind the banister on the upper level.

"I should've known!" the Doctor said, shaking his head. "Come on, you three, down here. You can't hide from me."

"How did you know we were here?" asked Ron as he, Harry and Hermione descended the stairs to the console platform.

"Oh, you know, just the fact that I didn't see you guys leave the corridor in Hogwarts," the Doctor said, fiddling with a few levers on the TARDIS console.

"Yeah, well, you were too busy snogging Ton-" began Ron, but Hermione cut him off.

"We were wondering, Professor, if you'd be able to explain what this place is," Hermione said, gesturing around the room.

The Doctor was pleased. He always enjoyed explaining the TARDIS mechanics to new people.

"It's a time machine, able to travel anywhere in time and space. It's also-"

"Bigger on the inside, yeah, but so what?" asked Ron. "So's my dad's tent."

The Doctor's smile slid off his face, and he pointed an accusing finger at Ron. "Your just one big...ruiner!" he said grumpily, turning to face the console.

"But what is this place _called_? And why does it look like a blue box?" asked Harry, as the Doctor ran around the console, flicking switches, pressing buttons and pulling levers.

"It's called the TARDIS," the Doctor replied, typing co-ordinates into the Spatial Location Input. "Stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space. And the blue box thing is a disguise. In the first nanosecond of landing, it scans the surroundings and makes a 12 dimensional data map from everything in a 12 mile radius and decides what would blend in best," he said proudly, patting the console.

"So it decided that a blue box would blend in best at Hogwarts?" Ron said. "How thick is it?"

"Oi, it's a lot smarter than you!" the Doctor said indignantly. "But there's a fault, it's a blue box all the time. I've been meaning to get it checked actually..." He pulled a lever. "Anyway," he said to the trio. "Where do you want to go?"

"Go?" asked Hermione, confused. "Go where?"

"Anywhere, you want."

The teenagers glanced at each other uncomfortably, but it was Hermione who spoke first.

"Well, um, you see, Professor," she said tentatively. "We can't go anywhere, we've got our OWLs coming up, they're really important exams that we absolutely need to take, and..." she trailed off, looking at the Doctor, hoping that he would understand.

"Oh," said the Doctor, surprised, but saddened. "I see. I suppose I'd better let you out."

"We're really sorry Professor," said Harry, "but thanks for understanding."

The Doctor gave them a small, sad smile before reverting to his usual persona. "Right, now all you need to do is to pull this big lever to open the doors, and you're free to go!" he said, pointing to a big, raised lever on a panel next to him.

"Don't we need to take off first?" Hermione asked. "We haven't left the zygon ship yet."

"Don't need to," the Doctor lied. "I made time flow faster outside the TARDIS, so when you leave, you'll find that it'll be the exact minute I said goodbye to – what was her name? Tonks?"

Harry and Hermione nodded as Ron reached over the console and pulled the lever. Immediately, the TARDIS shuddered, and the familiar wheezing, groaning sound began.

"What have you done, Ron?" shouted Hermione, holding onto the console.

"I didn't do anything!" Ron protested, looking very bewildered. "All I did was pull the lever that Professor Smith told me to!"

"Professor, what's happening?" asked Harry.

The Doctor couldn't suppress his grin. "Ron's released the handbrake; we're now dematerialising!"

"You lied to us, didn't you," shouted Harry. "You never had any intention of letting us go!"

"Right in one!" the Doctor grinned, and he started running around the console again, flicking switches, pulling levers and pressing buttons.

"Where are we going?" asked Hermione.

"I don't know!" laughed the Doctor.

"What's going to happen to us?"

"I don't know!" the Doctor said again, imitating the trio by grabbing hold of the console. "But I do know one thing!"

"What's that?" the trio asked at the same time.

The Doctor grinned. "Geronimo!" he shouted, as the TARDIS hurtled through the time vortex, transporting its occupants to their next adventure.

THE END

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note: Thank you so much to all of you who have followed, favourited and reviewed this story over the past 7 months. This is my first story, so all that recognition was very much appreciated. I'm currently revising the story, so you may want to re-read the Prologue and Chapter 1 to see some new content. Also, be on the lookout for a sequel to this story, which should hopefully appear sometime in the near future! Thank you all once again!<strong>

**JSmith25  
><strong>


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